Normandy Group calls for end to Ukraine fighting
The foreign ministers of the Normandy Group of four countries - Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany - have met in the German capital, Berlin, calling for an immediate halt to fighting in eastern Ukraine.
In a statement released after a late-night meeting on Monday, the foreign ministers also called for more heavy weaponry to be withdrawn from eastern Ukraine as well as more monitoring of the fragile ceasefire between the Kiev government and pro-Russia forces.
“We call on all sides to stop fighting and demonstrate their commitment to fully implementing the ceasefire and conclude the withdrawal of heavy weapons...we furthermore call for the withdrawal of mortars and heavy weapons below 100mm as well as all types of tanks,” the statement said.
The diplomats also urged the formation of working groups to kick-start a concrete political solution to the ongoing tensions in eastern Ukraine.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters that his meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and France's Laurent Fabius also focused on how to implement measures aimed at cementing peace in Ukraine, including humanitarian aid delivery, exchange of prisoners and local elections.
The gathering was the fifth round the four have had in the German capital since last summer to review progress in implementing the truce between pro-Russia forces and Kiev in the Belarusian city of Minsk, which came into force on February 15.
The two mainly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine have been hit by deadly clashes between pro-Russia forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations in April last year to crush pro-Russia protests there.
According to the UN, more than 6,000 people have been killed since the conflict started in the region a year ago.
AR/GHN/HMV
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