Russian lawmaker hopes Berlin talks will give impetus to Minsk deal implementation

BERN (Switzerland), October 20. /TASS/. Speaker of Russia’s Federation Council (upper house of parliament), Valentina Matviyenko, has expressed hope that the Normandy Four meeting in Berlin will give a fresh impetus to the implementation of the Minsk agreements.

There is no alternative to the Minsk accords, she emphasized while talking to reporters. "Russia is committed to the implementation of the roadmap enshrined in them. There is no other alternative," Matviyenko said. "We hope that the meeting in Berlin will give a fresh impetus to make sure that the Minsk accords are implemented in practice."

She added that Russia is doing everything it can, "but no one except the authorities in Kiev can restore peace in southeastern Ukraine."

The speaker expressed the hope that direct talks between Kiev and representatives of Donetsk and Lugansk will finally be held.

According to Matviyenko, the main problem lies in the fact that the Ukrainian authorities fail to comply with the political part of the Minsk accords, including to pass the laws on elections, a special status for the Donbass region and the general amnesty. "Non-compliance with the political part of the Minsk agreements hinders the political settlement of the intra-Ukrainian crisis," she said.

Berlin earlier hosted a Normandy format meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko on the settlement in eastern Ukraine. No documents were signed at the meeting. Nevertheless, an agreement was reached on developing a roadmap for the implementation of the Minsk agreements. It is expected that this document will be drawn up and approved until the end of November.