BERLIN, August 24. /TASS/. France and Germany have listened to the Ukrainian vision of the situation in the Donbas region, but contacts with the Russian president on the issue are necessary, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Berlin on Monday following talks with Presidents of France and Ukraine Francois Hollande and Petro Poroshenko.
"We discussed many issues today", we listened to the stance on them "from the Ukrainian angle," the chancellor said. "We will also resume contacts with the Russian president. I do not rule out that a four-party meeting will take place," Merkel noted. According to the German leader, there are differences of opinion on Ukraine between the West and Russia which "should be necessarily settled." Merkel stressed that ceasefire agreements reached in Minsk, Belarus, in February, were fundamental to peace in Ukraine and they should not be called into question. International observers from European security watchdog OSCE should continue monitoring the ceasefire in the country’s east, she added.
France’s Hollande calls for new meetings to resolve situation in east Ukraine
French President Francois Hollande on Monday pointed to the need for new meetings to resolve the situation in eastern Ukraine, including talks in the so-called "Normandy format" between leaders and foreign ministry officials from Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France. Hollande stressed it was necessary to move to peace in eastern Ukraine on the basis of ceasefire agreements reached in Minsk, Belarus, in February.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko after the meeting said he considers the Minsk process to be a universal tool for achieving peace in Donbas. "I will repeat once again - there is no alternative to the Minsk process. We confirm it now. The Minsk process is an absolutely universal tool, it’s ceasefire, withdrawal of heavy equipment and artillery, ensuring full release of prisoners, access of OSCE to monitoring these processes," Poroshenko said. According to him, all issues can be resolved within the framework of the Minsk and Normandy formats. "We do not need new formats, we have the Minsk and Normandy ones. I am prepared to discuss new formats, but we believe the basic format is the Normandy one, which has proved its efficiency," he said.
Kiev "consistently implements the Minsk agreements, including on the humanitarian issues, on ceasefire, on the OSCE, and on the establishment of humanitarian centers in the coming months," Poroshenko said. He noted that during the meeting the parties discussed the issue of access of monitors to the border to an uncontrolled territory, elections in Donbas, "which threaten the Minsk process." The leaders of the three countries "discussed the energy issues, the tripartite cooperation between Ukraine, the European Union and Russia on the issue of gas transit through Ukraine to ensure its uninterrupted supply," Poroshenko said. "I hope that the result will be de-escalation, local elections in accordance with the Ukrainian legislation under the supervision of the OSCE," he said. Poroshenko confirms creation of humanitarian logistics centers in eastern Ukraine
The Ukrainian president confirmed that three humanitarian logistics centers will be set up in the Kiev-controlled territories in Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions by late August. "I have ordered to set up three humanitarian logistics centers by the end of the month," Poroshenko said.
Then there is the Sputnik take on it, note the lack of a quote from Poro.
The leaders of Germany, France and Ukraine agreed at the meeting in Berlin on Monday to proceed the work on the implementation of the Minsk agreements, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at a news briefing in the German capital.
BERLIN (Sputnik) — The German chancellor said that the meeting was aimed at supporting the Minsk agreements, which are the basis for Ukrainian crisis settlement. "We met to support Minsk-2, not to put it in doubt," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at a news briefing following talks with the presidents of France and Ukraine. Merkel said that the participants of the meeting in Berlin would inform Russian President Vladimir Putin about results of talks either by phone or in person. The German Chancellor added that the sides would hold additional consultations with Russia on ensuring the work of the OSCE monitors in Ukraine since their presence there was "Alpha and Omega of a successful settlement" of the Ukrainian crisis.
The Minsk agreements still are not fully implemented, French President Francois Hollande said at the news briefing. "Now, for us there is only one rule – respect of the Minsk agreements. In regard to the ceasefire, they are still not fully observed," Hollande said. New meetings, including those in the Normandy format are needed to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, the French president added.
Read more: http://sputniknews.com/politics/20150824/1026141603.html#ixzz3jl3aJAmP
Last edited by JohninMK on Mon Aug 24, 2015 8:22 pm; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : Second item added)