At a meeting of EU ministers of foreign affairs Federal Foreign Minister Steinmeier has urged the parties to the conflict to demonstrate the will to compromise. In view of the worsening military hostilities he pointed out to all parties, that the "willingness to move, the willingness to implement the Minsk Protocol" must become apparent.
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Speaking to the press corps in Brussels, the Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier outlined the current problems in the Ukraine crisis. In spite of intensive contacts, negotiating with the parties to the conflict is still "an arduous business," he explained, "The situation is that all sides cite the Minsk Protocol every day, every week, and that all sides see the Minsk Protocol as the basis of further political steps. But, we are not making swift enough progress on implementing the Protocol. In fact in some respects we are making no progress at all."
"We need reliable signals that there is a genuine willingness to move, a willingness to implement the Minsk Protocol," noted Frank-Walter Steinmeier, if there are to be further efforts with German involvement. "We are now exploring whether there is any greater readiness this week on the part of Russia, on the part of the separatists and on the side of Ukraine to help achieve a compromise."
In this context the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, noted that there will be no further discussion of relaxing sanctions on Russia at foreign minister level. In March the EU must decide whether or not to extend the sanctions imposed on Russia.
It is not yet clear whether or not there could be another meeting of ministers of foreign affairs this week, said Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Brussels. The foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany last met in Berlin on 12 January. The meeting was "disappointing" reported Steinmeier. It is thus unclear whether or not the eagerly awaited summit meeting of heads of state and government will take place, and if so when, he stressed.
One of the most important points "which is critical for everything that comes after" is the fixing of the demarcation line pursuant to the provisions of the Minsk Protocol signed in September 2014. This is the precondition for separating the combatants on both sides. It is also the precondition for sending in OSCE observer missions on the ground and providing humanitarian assistance. "Unfortunately we have made no progress on this point – not even last Monday in Berlin," the minister summed up.
Chancellor Angela Merkel would still like to see a swift meeting of the Contact Group. This could pave the way for a meeting of the heads of state and government in Astana with further consultations, she has stressed repeatedly in telephone conversations with Presidents Poroshenko, Putin and Hollande.
On Monday at the Federal Press Conference, Federal Foreign Office spokesperson Martin Schäfer reported that the situation in eastern Ukraine remains difficult, and that the spectre of military and political escalation "has by no means been banished". The Federal Foreign Minister and the entire German government is "seriously concerned" about the prospect that, as in last summer, we might face the threat of open military hostilities between neighbouring states. "That cannot and must not happen again," warned the spokesperson. "It thus remains in our own interest to keep the channels of communication open between the parties to the conflict, to seek dialogue and to search for ways of making political progress," stated Martin Schäfer.