News / Germany

Germany to host four-way talks on Ukraine crisis

Sunday, 01 May 2016 9:02 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 01 May 2016 8:59 AM ]

(From L) Russian, Ukrainian, French and German foreign ministers pose for a group photo prior to their meeting in the so-called Normandy Four format on the situation in Ukraine, at the French Foreign Ministry, in Paris, March 3, 2016. ©AFP

Germany says a meeting will be held in the so-called Normandy Four format on the Ukraine conflict in the capital, Berlin, later this month.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Saturday that he had invited his Russian, Ukrainian and French counterparts to attend the four-way Berlin talks due on May 11.

“It is necessary to give new momentum (to efforts) to surmount obstacles between Kiev and Moscow,” Steinmeier said.

The so-called Normandy Four, which consists of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine, have met periodically since June 2014 seeking to resolve the crisis in Ukraine’s eastern regions.

The top German diplomat further noted that the discussions would focus on the preparation of local elections in eastern Ukraine with “concrete proposals now on the table” alongside “interesting re-stabilization proposals” from the Organization for the Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

The government in Kiev and pro-Russian forces signed a ceasefire agreement in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, in September 2014.

The warring sides also inked another truce deal, dubbed Minsk II, in February 2015 under the supervision of Russia, Germany and France, after the first one failed to hold.

Since then, however, both parties have, on numerous occasions, accused each other of breaking the ceasefire.

A Ukrainian military serviceman guards an area in Avdiivka, Donestk, Ukraine, April 16, 2016. ©AP

Elsewhere in his comments, Steinmeier called for an urgent diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict while the ceasefire is still proving shaky in the eastern European country.

“We have lost time. The ceasefire has again become more fragile and the number of ceasefire violations and human losses is on the rise,” he said.

Ukraine's eastern provinces of Donetsk and Lugansk have witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Moscow forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations in April 2014 to crush pro-Moscow protests there. The crisis has left around 9,300 people dead and over 21,000 others injured.

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