BERLIN, August 18. /TASS/. In the run-up to their talks in Germany on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said they were ready to continue working on the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis.
"Of course, we will also talk about Ukraine," Putin said, referring to the agenda of the upcoming talks.
"In the context of the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, which, unfortunately, does not make headway at all, we are inclined to stress the lack of alternative to implementation of the Minsk agreements, to note our interest in working within the Normandy format and the contact group, our readiness to continue cooperating with the UN special monitoring mission," Putin said.
"I hope we will manage to make progress on this issue," he added.
Merkel, in her turn, told reporters ahead of the meeting that Germany and Russia must continue to search for solutions to settle the conflict, the Minsk agreements remain the basis for the settlement.
"We have been working on it for a long time already, the Minsk agreements have been and remain the basis for it (settlement of the conflict - TASS). Although we must state that there is still no stable ceasefire," she said.
"I hope that before the start of the school year, one more attempt will be made to move forward," Merkel said.
"We will also discuss today the possibility of creating a UN mission that could contribute to reconciliation," the chancellor said, adding that "Germany is ready to contribute" to these efforts as part of the Normandy format.
Earlier on Saturday, Foreign Minister of Germany Heiko Maas said that Berlin was ready "to give new dynamics to the Minsk process." He also noted that felt cautiously optimistic about the UN peacekeeping mission.