The Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), consisting of senior representatives of Ukraine, the Russian Federation and the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, convened an urgent meeting in Kyiv on 24 January 2015.

The TCG discussed the rising tension in eastern Ukraine and condemned the intensification of violence there, especially in the vicinity of the city of Mariupol, which has already caused numerous casualties among civilian population. Such violence constitutes a clear violation of the letter and spirit of the Minsk Protocol and the Minsk Memorandum of 5 and 19 September respectively.

The TCG urges that the ongoing hostilities in eastern Ukraine should be stopped immediately and all signatories of the Minsk documents meet for direct talks as soon as possible, at the latest by the beginning of next week.

The TCG stands ready for such a meeting with all signatories of the Minsk documents at any time.