The situation in Ukraine still poses one of the greatest foreign and security policy challenges at this time, said Chancellor Angela Merkel in the German Bundestag. She pledged that she will continue to work for the full implementation of the Minsk agreements.
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At this time of "difficult, extremely difficult, foreign and security policy challenges" for the European Union, there is still a special focus on the situation in Ukraine, stressed Chancellor Angela Merkel in a government statement, before she left for the European Council meeting.
She assured her audience, "We will continue to work for the implementation of the Minsk agreements – along with France as part of the Normandy group, and in close consultation with our European and transatlantic partners."
The Chancellor made it plain that the sanctions on Russia "are and will remain linked to the implementation of the Minsk agreements".
The ceasefire, which has been widely respected since the beginning of September, the withdrawal of heavy and light weapons, which has now begun, and especially the decision to postpone the elections called without consultation in the separatist-controlled parts of eastern Ukraine represent a "ray of hope", said the Chancellor. We are beginning to see what was discussed in February when the Minsk agreements were signed.
"I still term this a ray of hope – no more, but also no less," said Angela Merkel. It does, however, offer an "opportunity to progress along the path to a political solution at last".
The "imperative cornerstone of Minsk" in the words of the Chancellor is the complete withdrawal of all troops and mercenaries currently unlawfully in Ukraine, as well as ensuring full Ukrainian control over the country’s own borders. "Our goal is and will remain the restoration of free self-determination of Ukraine as regards its territorial integrity," stressed Angela Merkel to the applause of members of the German Bundestag.