Brussels, 13/04/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Sunday 12 April, Germany's foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called on Russia and Ukraine to make progress on implementing the Minsk agreement. On Monday 13 April, Steinmeier - along with his French counterpart Laurent Fabius - was hosting the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers, Serguei Lavrov and Pavlo Klimkin respectively, in order to discuss this implementation.
“We are waiting for Moscow, like Kiev, to deal with the central question of implementing the next phase of Minsk”, Steinmeier told German newspaper Die Welt. This means “for example, preparing local elections in the areas occupied by the separatists, and also humanitarian access and reconstructing Eastern Ukraine”, he said.
Steinmeier reiterated that although the withdrawal of heavy weapons was very advanced and the ceasefire was largely holding, there were still violations of the ceasefire. “The incidents that occur repeatedly - particularly near Mariupol around Shyrokyne and Dontesk airport, show that the risk of further escalation cannot not purely and simply be ruled out”, he said.
The implementation of the Minsk agreement will be one of the subjects of the G7 foreign ministers in Lubeck (Germany) on Tuesday 14 and Wednesday 15 April. Questioned about the presence of Russia's President Vladimir Putin at the G7/8 in June, Steinmeier stated that the return to the G8 format depended on respect for the unity of Ukraine and the implementation of Russia's obligations under the Minsk agreement. (Camille-Cerise Gessant)