BERLIN, February 11. /TASS/. Advisors to the leaders of the Normandy Format countries (Russia, Germany, Ukraine, France) at a meeting in Berlin were unable to overcome differences in terms of political measures to resolve the Ukrainian conflict and issues related to granting special status to Donbass, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Dmitry Kozak said following the meeting.
"The agenda of the talks today was, first, political measures to resolve the conflict, which includes issues related to the special status of Donbass, which should be enshrined in the constitution. This is the agenda that we had previously agreed upon. In terms of these issues, we agreed that it was necessary to overcome the different interpretations of the Minsk agreements at all costs," Kozak said.
He added that Ukraine has taken a firm stance, refusing to overcome differences over the future post-conflict settlement of the conflict in Donbass. "Verbally, we had a common understanding with Germany and France of how issues in the political sphere should be advanced, but Ukraine’s position is adamant. They refused to even quote the Minsk agreements in a draft statement that was proposed for consideration, referring to the fact that future post-conflict status of these territories should be resolved in consultations and discussions with representatives of certain regions [of Donbass]. This is a key issue that Ukraine refused to agree on," he said.
The previous talks of political advisers to the leaders of the Normandy format countries were held on January 26 in Paris. The first face-to-face meeting of representatives of all four countries in more than a year, held at the Elysee Palace, lasted 8.5 hours.