At the meeting of the ministers of foreign affairs of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany, the parties to the conflict have agreed to a withdrawal of heavy weapons. Federal Foreign Minister Steinmeier said that this agreement did not constitute a breakthrough, but that "tangible progress" had been made.
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At their fourth "Normandy format" meeting the ministers of foreign affairs of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany have made progress. The Contact Group is to meet again within the next few days.
After several hours of negotiations, Frank-Walter Steinmeier reported cautiously, "Should what we have agreed today actually be implemented, then we would at least be a bit closer to the summit in Astana."
In view of the numerous lives lost since a renewed surge of heavy fighting in the Donbass region, a joint statement was issued, marking agreement on three important points:
The conditions for a genuine ceasefire must be swiftly put in place to make it possible to deliver humanitarian aid and exchange of detainees. Russia has agreed, he reported, to exert the necessary influence over the separatists.
The Contact Group, which brings together the OSCE, representatives of the governments of Russia and Ukraine and representatives of the pro-Russian separatists, must meet as swiftly as possible. Working groups are then to be established to deal with specific further steps.
After new fighting flared up last week, Frank-Walter Steinmeier noted that the situation in eastern Ukraine was "threatening". In line with the wishes of Ukraine and Russia, he thus invited his counterparts Laurent Fabius, Sergei Lavrov and Pavlo Klimkin to Berlin to once again seek ways of moving towards a political solution. Before the meeting Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Angela Merkel once again called on all parties to the conflict to demonstrate their will to compromise. The central goal is still to implement the Minsk Protocol.
The Federal Foreign Minister underlined the urgent need for a ceasefire. "It is the people in the region who are paying the price for the non-implementation of the Minsk Protocol – the people who are dying, being injured and suffering shortages every day." Not only the people are suffering though. The economy in Ukraine and in Russia has been hard hit. "This state of affairs is untenable," Frank-Walter Steinmeier re-asserted.
"Our main aim must be to prevent any further intensification of the hostilities, and any new political escalation between Kyiv and Moscow. And that is worth every effort we can make," the minister said before yesterday’s meeting.
"Although the situation is extremely difficult, I think it is right that the four ministers of foreign affairs are meeting," said Chancellor Angela Merkel during the visit of Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev to Berlin. The aim must also be to consider whether any progress has been made towards preparing a four-way meeting in Astana. In this context the Chancellor warned, "We do not want to see another meeting at the level of the Presidents that delivers no results at the end of the day."
The last few days have shown all too clearly, "that the ceasefire is becoming more and more fragile, and that at the moment we are moving further away from the Minsk Protocol rather than making any progress on implementing it." This agreement is, however, "still the foundation of talks", stressed Angela Merkel. So far both Ukraine and Russia have always affirmed their support of the Minsk Protocol. "I hope that this does not change."
On 6 June 2014 Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Vladimir Putin, Petro Poroshenko and François Hollande on the side-lines of the World War commemoration ceremonies in Normandy. It was the first time the Russian and Ukrainian heads of state had met since the start of the crisis. Since then meetings involving these four countries have been known as the "Normandy format". Whether or not another meeting of the heads of state and government is held in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, depends on progress being achieved in negotiations.
On Wednesday federal government spokesperson Steffen Seibert confirmed that the German government was working tirelessly to help achieve diplomatic solutions. In Berlin the ever heavier fighting around the airport in Donetsk was being followed with great concern, he reported. "The separatists bear a special responsibility for this with their attempt to seize the airport at the end of last week – in violation of the ceasefire," said Steffen Seibert unequivocally, and called on all parties to the conflict to respect the agreed ceasefire.
Federal Foreign Office spokesperson Martin Schäfer added that the German government is "absolutely convinced that "there can be no military solution" to the current crisis in eastern Ukraine. "Neither the separatists nor the Ukrainian state – we believe – will be a position to win this conflict by military means for the foreseeable future. That simply won’t happen. The only solution is a political solution which must be sought through dialogue."
Following the meeting of the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council which ended on 19 January in Brussels, Frank-Walter Steinmeier outlined the current problems in the Ukraine crisis. In spite of intensive contacts, negotiating with the parties to the conflict remains "an arduous business". The minister explained, "The situation is that all sides cite the Minsk Protocol every day, every week, and that all sides see the Minsk Protocol as the basis of further political steps. But, we are not making swift enough progress on implementing the Protocol. In fact in some respects we are making no progress at all."
One of the most important points "which is critical for everything that comes after" is the fixing of the demarcation line pursuant to the provisions of the Minsk Protocol signed in September 2014. This is the precondition for disengaging the combatants on both sides. It is also the precondition for sending in OSCE observer missions on the ground and providing humanitarian assistance.
Compromises are needed, "which might hurt, but which are needed to achieve a fair give and take, so that we can move closer to a solution," said Federal Foreign Office spokesperson Martin Schäfer on Wednesday.