German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel says he sees no need to add the US to the current format of four-way ministerial meetings concerning the Ukraine settlement, noting, however, that close contact with Washington on the matter is “necessary.”
“There must be close contact with the United States, but we think this [Normandy] format... should be maintained,” Gabriel said after he met with his Russian, French, and Ukrainian counterparts on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Saturday. The Minister added that the matter had been discussed with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and that he had “agreed with this.”
taken to a new “higher level” with the participation of the US.
Ukraine's representative to the Trilateral Contact Group for Donbass (the name commonly used for the breakaway Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine), former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, said in December last year that Russia's stance was an obstacle to including the US in the Normandy format. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin recently said that Moscow does not oppose the inclusion of other countries, including the US, in the talks.
Germany, France, Russia, and Ukraine on Saturday talked mostly of the recent escalation in eastern Ukraine and ways to stem the violence. The sides agreed to use their influence to introduce a new ceasefire and facilitate the withdrawal of heavy weapons in the region starting Monday.
“We have reached several agreements. All sides have agreed to use their influence to implement the decisions made by the trilateral contact group on February 15,” Sigmar Gabriel said, as cited by Reuters. The group comprises Ukraine, Russia, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and aims to facilitate the peace process.
“We are going to meet in a few weeks for preparations of the political process, which will be the hardest task. But the political process cannot be started without a ceasefire and pullout of heavy weapons,” the minister concluded.“The aim is to have a ceasefire starting from February 20 and to do what has long been agreed but never implemented: to withdraw the heavy weapons from the region, to secure them and enable the OSCE monitors to control where they are kept,” Gabriel added. He noted also that the Normandy group will meet again soon to start preparing the launch of the political settlement process.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that Russia has been actively supporting the decision to introduce an immediate ceasefire.
“On February 20 the ceasefire regime will start and withdrawal of heavy military hardware will also start... We have actively supported this decision and obviously expressed a conviction that this time, failure should not be allowed,” Lavrov said after talks with his counterparts, adding that he believed both Kiev and the rebels would abide by the February 20 date. He noted, however, that the talks failed to bring about all the anticipated results.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said he was “not at all” happy with Saturday’s talks and complained about a lack of “powerful results,” speaking to Reuters after the ministerial meeting.
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