02:47Germany: Steinmeier talks Ukraine conflict with Belarusian FM Makei
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier held a joint press conference with Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei in Berlin, Wednesday. Both diplomats met earlier in the day to discuss a range of issues including further cooperation between Germany and Belarus and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Discussing Ukraine, Steinmeier noted that whilst the situation had improved in recent months there were still certain issues that needed to be addressed. "In light of the of the situation today, I still view the Minsk regulation to be important. It is still the basis on which we are trying to reach developments. The last two Normandy format meetings just took place. But looking at the reality of things we see that issues have not been resolved yet," Steinmeier stated, adding that "they are calmer, we have seen withdrawal of weapons, but there are still cases of ceasefire violations and they are increasing again. Breaches of the ceasefire repeatedly threaten a peaceful settlement to the conflict. This is why we have to talk to Russia and Ukraine again to go back to the state of affairs, that we observed over more than 12 weeks, without any major violations."
Makei emphasised the Belarusian position on the Ukraine conflict, saying: "We would like for peace to return to Ukraine as soon as possible. We have always supported Ukraine to stay a united state."
"We are three Slavik people, I mean the Ukrainians, the Russians and the Belarusians. If two brothers fought, then the third brother should help to eliminate the issue. We have always tried to do the best possible to bring back peace to the Ukrainian land," he added.
02:47German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier held a joint press conference with Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei in Berlin, Wednesday. Both diplomats met earlier in the day to discuss a range of issues including further cooperation between Germany and Belarus and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Discussing Ukraine, Steinmeier noted that whilst the situation had improved in recent months there were still certain issues that needed to be addressed. "In light of the of the situation today, I still view the Minsk regulation to be important. It is still the basis on which we are trying to reach developments. The last two Normandy format meetings just took place. But looking at the reality of things we see that issues have not been resolved yet," Steinmeier stated, adding that "they are calmer, we have seen withdrawal of weapons, but there are still cases of ceasefire violations and they are increasing again. Breaches of the ceasefire repeatedly threaten a peaceful settlement to the conflict. This is why we have to talk to Russia and Ukraine again to go back to the state of affairs, that we observed over more than 12 weeks, without any major violations."
Makei emphasised the Belarusian position on the Ukraine conflict, saying: "We would like for peace to return to Ukraine as soon as possible. We have always supported Ukraine to stay a united state."
"We are three Slavik people, I mean the Ukrainians, the Russians and the Belarusians. If two brothers fought, then the third brother should help to eliminate the issue. We have always tried to do the best possible to bring back peace to the Ukrainian land," he added.