Brussels, 27/08/2014 (Agence Europe) - The European Union, Ukraine and the countries of the Customs Union agreed on Tuesday 26 August to step up their discussions on the EU-Ukraine association agreement. “We agreed that we will intensify efforts in the trilateral working group of Russia, Ukraine and EU representatives and will try to draft proposals by 12 September, if we can”, on the concerns expressed by Russia and the Customs Union, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on 26 August. Commissioner for External Trade Karel de Gucht described the conflict between Ukraine and Russia as “a political conflict which has trade ramifications, rather than the other way round”. “I believe that we can find a solution to these trade ramifications of the deep and comprehensive free-trade area and we are discussing this. The process continues at technical level and we will meet again in Brussels on 12 September at political level”, he explained.
In Minsk, the EU once again called for a truce with regard to proper border management. “It is vital to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches people appropriately, in full compliance with international law”, added High Representative Catherine Ashton, who also laid emphasis on the progress required in the political process.
The high point of the Minsk summit was the meeting of more than two hours between the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and his Ukrainian counterpart, Petro Poroshenko, even though it achieved few concrete results. “The peace strategy Ukraine wishes to develop was supported by all the leaders who took part in the summit at Minsk, without exception”, said Poroshenko, raising the possibility of a roadmap. However, Russia said that it was the responsibility of Ukraine to agree with the insurgents over the conditions for a truce. Putin takes the view that a ceasefire is an internal question for Ukraine to deal with. “We discussed the need to put an end to the bloodshed as quickly as possible and on the need for a transition towards political resolution of all of the problems facing the south-eastern region of Ukraine. Russia will do all in its power to promote the peace process if it is launched and, in our opinion, this process must be launched as soon as possible”, he stressed. Putin went on to explain that it had been agreed that the contact group should resume its work as soon as possible. According to the spokesperson to the Ukrainian president, speaking on 27 August, Russia and Ukraine agreed to launch consultations on ways of re-establishing the integrity of their common border. (CG)