In her telephone conversation on Sunday with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Chancellor Angela Merkel said that everything must still be done to achieve a peaceful solution. Respecting the ceasefire and the withdrawal of heavy weaponry would be the first step towards implementing the Minsk Protocol signed in September. This must be based on the contact line agreed in September, as the ministers of foreign affairs of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France reaffirmed at their "Normandy format" meeting last week.

On 6 June 2014 Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Vladimir Putin, Petro Poroshenko and François Hollande on the fringes of the World War commemoration ceremony in Normandy. It was the first time the Russian and Ukrainian Presidents had met since the outbreak of the crisis. Since then meetings involving these four countries have been termed the "Normandy format".

Exerting maximum influence over the separatists

The Chancellor urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to prevent any further escalation. The parties who signed the Minsk Protocol must respect the agreement and sit down at the negotiating table with the Contact Group, she said. The Contact Group, which brings together representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE, has a very important part to play in implementing the agreement, she added.

At the government press conference on Monday (26 January), federal government spokesperson Steffen Seibert added, "If we want to break out of this upward spiral of violence, if we want to give a diplomatic solution a chance, it is absolutely imperative that the pro-Russian separatists in particular respect the ceasefire at last; that they halt the offensive on Mariupol that they have announced." To prevent any more blood being spilled, Russia should exert its influence, he said.

On Saturday (24 January) a rocket attack on the eastern Ukrainian port of Mariupol killed at least 30 people. According to OSCE observers, the attack came from the separatists who are supported by Russia.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier talks of "extremely dangerous situation"

Earlier Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned that the situation in the region around Mariupol was "extremely dangerous". The parties that signed the Minsk Protocol and the Berlin Declaration must prevent the situation in Ukraine deteriorating to the point that it is "completely out of control", said Frank-Walter Steinmeier on the fringes of a meeting with the Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ramtane Lamamra in Algiers.

The statements issued by the leaders of the separatists made it "very obvious" who is interested in circumventing efforts to de-escalate the situation, said Frank-Walter Steinmeier. He also, however, confirmed that efforts to defuse the conflict are "still the right way forward".

At the government press conference on Monday, Federal Foreign Office spokesperson Martin Schäfer said, "This major offensive, which was ostentatiously announced yesterday, has not yet taken place. Maybe there is actually something and somebody behind the scenes who still has a grain of common sense – someone who can make the right decision."

Seeking diplomatic solutions

On Thursday (22 January) there was heavy fighting in the south of Donetsk, which left more than 30 dead. At least seven people were killed when a bus terminal was shelled. The German government was shocked by this latest violence.

On Friday, during a visit to Florence, Chancellor Angela Merkel said, ""We must do all we can to make progress at diplomatic level. Every day innocent people are dying. That is an unsatisfactory state of affairs." Our offer to Russia is to continue to seek diplomatic solution, she said. The same applies to Ukraine. But we "cannot fudge the issue, when there have been violations of international law," said Angela Merkel.

Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was also appalled by the attacks on civilians in Donetsk, and declared that the spiral of violence and counter-violence must be halted. As agreed in Berlin on Tuesday, heavy weapons must be withdrawn from eastern Ukraine without delay, said the Federal Foreign Minister.

Minsk agreements have priority

During his visit to Morocco on 22 January, the Federal Foreign Minister called on the parties to the conflict, "not to allow the ruthless groups that have no interest in de-escalation and an end to the violence" to prevail. The minister continued, "I therefore urgently call on all those who signed and are politically responsible for the Minsk Protocol and yesterday’s Berlin Declaration to fulfil their responsibility and now do everything in their power to take the first steps to a ceasefire."

There is not much time left to achieve a peaceful solution, added Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Moscow and Kyiv should show they are serious about wanting a political solution, They must now "stand up and do everything they can to halt the spiral of violence and counter‑violence. This includes implementing without delay the agreement reached yesterday in Berlin on the withdrawal of heavy weapons," he added

At the government press conference on Friday, the deputy spokesperson of the Federal Foreign Office, Sewsan Chebli, added that the German government urges both sides, "to do everything in their power to silence the weapons at last". At the meeting of the four foreign ministers in Berlin Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov signalled that Russia would exert its influence over the separatists. "We expect Russia to do so," stressed the spokesperson. "When we look at the situation on the ground there is still a lot of scope for improvement."

The yardstick

According to deputy federal government spokesperson Christiane Wirtz, the Minsk agreements will determine how the situation in eastern Ukraine will develop. Economic and political relations with Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union also depend on the implementation of the Minsk Protocol.

The four foreign ministers have been engaged in efforts to bring about de-escalation, stated Christiane Wirtz. "Nevertheless we have all seen the pictures of the shelled bus in eastern Ukraine." This is "the most essential point that concerns the German government at the moment".

Before we can consider the specifics of a common economic area, the conflict in Ukraine must be resolved. That is the priority for the German government at the moment, stated the spokesperson clearly. "That is first of all the precondition for engaging in more depth in talks of this sort, and one of the parameters thereof."