Germany is ready for Ukrainian peace talks in the Normandy Four format, the German Foreign Ministry's spokesman, Rainer Breul, said on Wednesday, suggesting that this format could be effective if all parties were ready to come to the negotiating table.
BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th September, 2018) Germany is ready for Ukrainian peace talks in the Normandy Four format, the German Foreign Ministry's spokesman, Rainer Breul, said on Wednesday, suggesting that this format could be effective if all parties were ready to come to the negotiating table.
On Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that it was impossible to speak about holding the next meetings in the Normandy Four format, comprising France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine, after the recent killing of Alexander Zakharchenko, the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in the Ukrainian conflict-torn Donbas.
"We will not comment on specific statements, but we are convinced that the Normandy format may be functional provided that all the parties participate in it and are ready for talks ... We are ready for this," Breul said during a press briefing.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that it was difficult to discuss anything with the authorities in Kiev after Zakharchenko's murder, noting that this did not mean Russia would withdraw from the Minsk agreements on the Ukrainian settlement. The presidential spokesman went on to emphasize Russia's commitment to the Minsk process.
In 2014, the Ukrainian army started an offensive against Donbas residents who refused to recognize the newly-formed government. The conflict between the DPR and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) on one side, and Kiev' forces on the other has claimed over 10,000 lives, according to UN figures, and is still ongoing.
Efforts to stabilize the situation in eastern Ukraine have been made by the Normandy Four group which, among other things, brokered the Minsk peace accords, which were signed by the sides to the conflict in a bid to end hostilities. However, the warring parties have failed to observe the ceasefire, so the unrest in Donbas continues.
