BERLIN: German, Russian, Ukrainian and French representatives have agreed to meet again in March after “tough talks” in Berlin, sources close to French and German negotiators told AFP on Friday.
Sources said the meeting lasted more than nine hours late Thursday in the so-called four-way “Normandy” format.
“These were difficult negotiations in which different positions and different options for resolution were clearly worked out,” he said.
However, participants from all four countries are committed to 2015 Minsk Peace Agreement He said that the separatist conflict between Kiev and Moscow will continue to “work zealously” on the conflict and to “enforce it”, he said.
They have agreed to meet again in March after the next meetings of the so-called Trilateral Contact Group, which includes representatives of Russia, Ukraine and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
The Normandy format was launched in 2014 to end fighting between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists in the country’s east.
Mediation between Russia and Ukraine by Berlin and Paris led to the 2015 Minsk Agreement, but Kiev and Moscow regularly accuse each other of violating its terms.
Tensions have risen in recent months as Russian troops rush to the border with Ukraine, with Western governments fearing Russia is planning an invasion of its neighbour.
According to the French presidency, discussions Thursday focused on political questions such as whether Ukraine should hold talks with separatists, as well as humanitarian questions such as the release of prisoners.
“Russia agreed to the essence of the talks, but ultimately insisted that … Ukraine talks directly with separatists, which is Ukraine’s only red line,” it said.
“The situation is very tense,” Gabriel Attal, a spokesman for the French government, told Europe 1 radio, but “we are continuing to make progress on the diplomatic front”.
Sources said the meeting lasted more than nine hours late Thursday in the so-called four-way “Normandy” format.
“These were difficult negotiations in which different positions and different options for resolution were clearly worked out,” he said.
However, participants from all four countries are committed to 2015 Minsk Peace Agreement He said that the separatist conflict between Kiev and Moscow will continue to “work zealously” on the conflict and to “enforce it”, he said.
They have agreed to meet again in March after the next meetings of the so-called Trilateral Contact Group, which includes representatives of Russia, Ukraine and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
The Normandy format was launched in 2014 to end fighting between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists in the country’s east.
Mediation between Russia and Ukraine by Berlin and Paris led to the 2015 Minsk Agreement, but Kiev and Moscow regularly accuse each other of violating its terms.
Tensions have risen in recent months as Russian troops rush to the border with Ukraine, with Western governments fearing Russia is planning an invasion of its neighbour.
According to the French presidency, discussions Thursday focused on political questions such as whether Ukraine should hold talks with separatists, as well as humanitarian questions such as the release of prisoners.
“Russia agreed to the essence of the talks, but ultimately insisted that … Ukraine talks directly with separatists, which is Ukraine’s only red line,” it said.
“The situation is very tense,” Gabriel Attal, a spokesman for the French government, told Europe 1 radio, but “we are continuing to make progress on the diplomatic front”.
,