Ukraine should withdraw subdivisions from settlements to stop bloodshed - Putin

Photo: Reuters

Both conflict parties should agree and carry out a set of actions in order to stop the bloodshed and stabilize the situation in south-eastern Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

"The first thing is to stop active offensive operations by the armed forces and armed formations of militia of south-eastern Ukraine in the direction of Donetsk and Luhansk," Putin told reporters.

Putin said that during his flight to Mongolia he drafted his own plan to resolve the Ukrainian crisis.

"The second thing is to withdraw armed subdivisions of Ukrainian law enforcers to a distance, ruling out the possibility of artillery and all multiple launch system strikes on settlements," the Russian president said.

"The third thing is to foresee carrying out comprehensive and objective international control with regard to compliance with ceasefire conditions and monitoring the situation created this way in the security sector," Putin said.

"The fourth thing is to rule out the application of combat aircraft against civilians and settlements in the conflict zone. Then to organize the exchange of persons kept forcibly under the 'all for all' formula, without any preliminary conditions," the Russian president said.

"The sixth thing is to open humanitarian corridors to move refugees and deliver humanitarian cargo to cities and other Donbas settlements - the Donetsk and Luhansk regions," he said.

"And finally, the seventh thing is to ensure the possibility of sending damage repair brigades to Donbas settlements to restore social and vital infrastructure facilities and to help them," Putin said.

The Kyiv authorities and representatives of south-eastern Ukraine could reach and affirm final agreements during the contact group meeting scheduled for September 5, 2014, the Russian president said.