A new round of Ukraine peace talks tentatively planned for Friday in Minsk have been called off, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said without providing a reason. "There will be no negotiations of the Contact Group this Friday in Minsk," ministry spokesman Dmitry Mironchik was quoted as saying by local news agencies.
The group, which includes Ukraine, Russia and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), held a first round of talks with the pro-Russian separatists in the Belarusian capital on Wednesday, during which they agreed on a prisoner swap.
Vasyl Budyk, a Ukrainian Defence Ministry adviser for prisoner issues, said that the swap would happen Saturday at the earliest, the Interfax Ukraine news agency reported Friday.
Negotiators left Minsk after Wednesday's meeting. Separatist leaders said Thursday that the face-to-face discussions were difficult but that talks had continued over Skype.
Alexei Karyakin, a leader of the self-declared "Luhansk People's Republic" accused Kiev of not being ready for compromise.
"This only confirms the fact that Ukraine continues to play like a dictator in this respect," Karyakin said of the cancellation, according to the semi-official rebel website lug-info.com.
Mediators want the two sides to restart peace talks and implement an accord they signed in September in Minsk. Along with a cease-fire, the document required prisoner exchanges and the withdrawal of heavy military equipment.
Separatists are also demanding that Kiev end its economic blockade of rebel-held territories. Other issues on the table include the region's political status and amnesty for combatants.
Ukraine's Security Council said Friday that the talks should continue. "We believe that these negotiations should not only take place but bring concrete results. The main result we strive for is a complete ceasefire," council spokesman Andriy Lysenko said in Kiev, according to Interfax Ukraine.
Lysenko added that one Ukrainian soldier was killed and another injured in clashes during the past 24 hours.
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