A roadmap of measures that will point a way out of the Ukrainian crisis has been agreed during four-way talks between the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine, German FM Frank-Walter Steinmeier said.
In their joint statement, the ministers called for the Contact Group to resume its work “no later than July 5 with the goal of reaching an unconditional and mutually agreed, sustainable ceasefire.”
The group should include representatives of both Kiev and the self-defense forces of the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, said.
“The ceasefire should be monitored by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine in conformity with its mandate,” the statement reads.
Lavrov, said that the ceasefire was essential to prevent further casualties among the civilian population, and to provide a chance of reaching an agreement between the sides in the conflict.
Moscow is ready to grant Ukraine border guards access to Russian territory so that they can control border crossings at several checkpoints, while the mutually agreed ceasefire is in place.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was called upon to deploy observers to the checkpoints.
“Of course, this will work only during the ceasefire. It will all be possible only after a ceasefire is agreed and officially declared,” Lavrov said.
The Russian FM insisted that the ceasefire must in no way be used as a chance to redeploy forces by the sides involved in the Ukrainian conflict.
"All sides must contribute to a secure environment," the statement concluded, emphasizing the need to ensure the safety and security of journalists working in the conflict zone.
Steinmeier expressed hope that by working together the sides will be able to stop “the escalation of the conflict, which has taken place in recent days.”
Mission accomplished?
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Pavlo Klimkin, confirmed that during the Berlin talks the parties agreed “the establishment of a bilateral ceasefire, which will be monitored by the OSCE.”However, he added that de-escalation will only happen when the Ukrainian president’s peace plan is respected in its totality.
Klimkin also expressed hope that “the effectiveness of control over the border regime between the Ukraine and Russia will be strengthened” as a result of the Berlin agreements.
French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, has described the outcome of Tuesday’s talks as “missing accomplished.”
“Our task is, first of all, to achieve peace and security. I think that the agreement the four countries reached is a step in the right direction,” he said.
According to Fabius, the most important issues to be addressed in Ukraine are “ceasefire; release of hostage and border settlement.
Source: Russia Today 02-07-2014
