Meeting in Normandy-format in Minsk, the foreign affairs ministers of France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia did not succeed in making any progress on Tuesday 29 November as regards implementation of the Minsk agreements.
At a summit on Wednesday 19 October, the French, Russian and Ukrainian presidents and German chancellor had agreed on their foreign ministers working on a roadmap for implementation of the Minsk agreements, which was to be approved at the end of November 2016 (see EUROPE 11650).
However, with December about to arrive, this roadmap still does not exist. "The Minsk discussions are in stalemate. We have not managed to reach an understanding on the next steps", Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated. "At the operational level, the parties concerned cannot even find an agreement on the sequence of steps to be taken in the areas of security and political reforms", he said. According to Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the Ukrainian and Russian positions have hardened, and the talks were difficult. He also asked the Ukrainians and Russians to show flexibility.
"There is still an enormous amount of work to be done", Frances's Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said. "Although the dialogue is difficult, it is not broken", he added. "We will not accept the status quo at the risk of the return to violence", he said.
The only positive point is that the international Red Cross could contribute to the implementation of a large exchange of prisoners before the end of the year, Steinmeier announced. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Pavel Klimkin also hoped for progress on humanitarian subjects.
The European Council on 15 and 16 December is expected to discuss prolonging the economic sanctions against Russia, in connection with the Ukrainian crisis. The Europeans have linked these sanctions to full implementation of the Minsk agreements. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)