Latest agreements reached in Contact Group on Ukraine give reason for cautious optimism - Peskov
MOSCOW. Sept 30 (Interfax) - Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov has called positive news the agreement to pull back weapons with a caliber under 100mm reached at a meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine in Minsk on Tuesday.
"Indeed, the news received from Minsk yesterday gives reason for cautious optimism. This is positive news, especially as the 'Normandy format' meeting is approaching, it is actually due to happen in Paris on October 2," Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.
"Obviously, the best way to make a breakthrough in this situation is to fulfill the provisions of the Minsk agreements, which are explicit, not subject to interpretation and are arranged in a certain sequence," he said.
"In this case, we would definitely expect the fulfillment of provisions which the relevant sides are tasked to fulfill in the first turn," the presidential press secretary said.
Journalists asked whether the sides could agree on a new date for local elections in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics. "Alongside elections, there are lots of other clauses which must not be forgotten about and which [the sides] must not be abstract from," Peskov said.