KYIV – The most recent meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group on Peaceful Settlement of the Situation in the Donbas was held in Minsk, Belarus, without being publicly announced beforehand. Only after the media of militant groups in the occupied Donbas published news about the March 11 meeting did a news release appear on the website of the Presidential Office of Ukraine.
The March 11 meeting was attended by the head of the Presidential Office of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, and the deputy head of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Kozak. The results of the meeting included an agreement on additional troop withdrawals, an exchange of prisoners and checkpoint openings. Public outcry was provoked by news about the establishment of an advisory council, a new body that could legitimize the occupational authorities of the uncontrolled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions (known by the Ukrainian-based acronym ORDLO).