Normandy Quartet FMs meet in Berlin over Ukraine crisis
Foreign ministers of the Normandy Quartet -- Russia, Ukraine, Germany, and France -- have met in the German capital Berlin to discuss ways to end the deadly clashes in eastern Ukraine.
On Wednesday, the foreign ministers of the European countries held talks in Berlin as clashes have flared up between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.
During the meeting, German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier called on all sides "to negotiate in a constructive way” so that they can take key steps in ending the bloodshed in the violence-wracked country.
“The situation in eastern Ukraine has become more dangerous in recent days. People are dying. It happens because the sides in conflict either do not want or simply cannot implement the previously signed agreement,” said Steinmeier, referring to the ceasefire deal signed by the representatives of Kiev, Moscow, and the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics in the Belarusian capital Minsk on September 5.
“I am convinced that it would be impossible to reduce tensions without agreement on the disengagement line and heavy weapons withdrawal. People are paying the price for the inability to implement the Minsk agreements. There are killed and wounded,” the German official added.
The four-nation format of the talks takes its title from the first meeting held in the French region of Normandy on June 6, 2014.
The two mainly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia protesters and the Ukrainian army since Kiev’s military operation started in April 2014 in a bid to crush the protests.
Violence intensified in May 2014 after the two flashpoint regions held local referendums in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine and joining the Russian Federation.
According to the latest figures released by the United Nations, almost 5,000 people have been killed in the fighting.
FNR/AS/MHB
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