All news

German FM calls for implementing Berlin agreements on truce in Ukraine

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier says the Contact Group meeting is the key element for ensuring further progress
Ukrainian soldiers of the Donbass battalion ITAR-TASS/Maxim Nikitin
Ukrainian soldiers of the Donbass battalion
© ITAR-TASS/Maxim Nikitin

BERLIN, July 04. /ITAR-TASS/. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called for implementing the agreements on truce in Ukraine.

“One cannot waste time,” Steinmeier said on Friday. “The Contact Group meeting is the key element for ensuring further progress,” he said.

“Talks will fail without the parties’ readiness for them. Kiev should express readiness, and Moscow should use its influence,” Steinmeier said.

On July 2, the Russian, German, French and Ukrainian foreign ministers agreed on a declaration on the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine's south-east. The declaration calls for establishing lasting truce in Ukraine and convening the Contact Group for Ukraine as soon as possible.

After the four-party talks Steinmeier said, “I understood that all participants realized what responsibility we all carry to prevent a greater danger in Ukraine.”

“I think we will be able to use joint efforts to move aside from the escalation of the conflict that has taken place in the past days,” he said.