Russia and the Ukraine have agreed on steps to calm the situation in eastern Ukraine. This was announced by Foreign Minister Steinmeier following a meeting with his counterparts from France, Russia and the Ukraine in Berlin.
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“Today we have succeeded in reaching an agreement on a bundle of measures, which together can point the way towards a lasting ceasefire on both sides”, said Steinmeier. However, he continued, more steps need to be taken before a ceasefire can be achieved.
By Saturday the contact group made up of representatives from Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE is to meet to start negotiations on a permanent ceasefire. It has also been agreed that efforts are to be made to ensure the speedy release of all hostages, said the German Foreign Minister.
Russia has declared itself willing to accept joint border controls with Ukrainian border officials if the ceasefire is in force. Monitoring of the ceasefire is to be the responsibility of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), as stated in a joint declaration. Search for diplomatic solutions
“We will not stop our search for diplomatic solutions”, declared the Federal Chancellor following talks with NATO Secretary General Rasmussen in Berlin. Merkel made clear how dissatisfied she is with the developments. She said that it is “very regrettable” that the ceasefire unilaterally declared by the Ukrainian President has not been accepted by the separatists. In ten days there has been “no significant response” to the peace plan.
Merkel said that she regrets that there is very limited cooperation between NATO and Russia against the backdrop of the conflict. She said that she understands the concerns of some of the eastern NATO member states, which feel threatened in view of the current situation. In this respect, she added, NATO must work intensively on the issue of how to provide security to these partners.
When asked about EU sanctions, the Federal Chancellor stressed that she cannot rule out the possibility of “having to take further steps”. She said that this has been discussed in the European Council with the Ukrainian President. However, she added that so far no decisions have been made on this.
Over the last few weeks Merkel has spoken many times on the telephone with Russian President Putin and Ukrainian President Poroshenko. Germany will continue in its efforts to help bring about a ceasefire in the Ukraine and a political solution to the conflict. “We still have a long way to go before we are where we would like to be", said the Federal Chancellor.