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Germany aims to add new dynamic to Minsk process - foreign minister

Heiko Maas stressed that the German government does not waver on its position on Crimea, and has no intentions to recognize it as Russian

BERLIN, August 18. German officials aim to add a new dynamic to the Minsk process on regulating the situation in eastern Ukraine, and if the Minsk agreements are followed, they may discuss the issue of lifting sanctions against Russia, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in an interview to the Welt Am Sonntag newspaper.

"We want to add a new dynamic to the Minsk process. I am cautiously optimistic about the UN’s peacekeeping mission," the minister said. "If we can realize the Minsk agreements, we can discuss the lifting of sanctions," Maas added.

The foreign minister stressed that the German government does not waver on its position on Crimea, and has no intentions to recognize it as Russian. "If we recognize Crimea as a Russian territory, then it would serve as an invitation for others to act against international law, which is why the EU’s decision made before the summer break on prolonging the sanctions against Russia was correct," he said, adding that the decision was unanimous. "This example shows how seriously the EU holds to its values," Maas noted.

The minister noted that in general, he is critical of Russian foreign policy. "At the present moment, I have a feeling that Moscow deliberately wishes to use the vacuum in international politics that the White House has left behind," he said.

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