MOSCOW, November 18 (Sputnik) – German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Tuesday he saw no grounds for optimism about Ukraine, because reconciliation agreements are not being implemented.
“There is no reason for our optimism in the current situation,” he said. “The main parts of the Minsk agreements have not been implemented and are not being implemented.”
“However, it would be a great loss to reject this document,” the German minister said.
He added that the document may serve as a basis for establishing the demarcation line and the buffer zone, withdrawal of heavy weaponry and exchange of prisoners.
Addressing the same issue on Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin also noted that there were certain problems with the implementation of the Minsk agreements, as both independence supports and Kiev forces have not left some of the areas they were supposed to leave.
Putin said that in order to preserve the integrity of Ukraine, the Kiev government should stop using force in southeastern regions and create the right conditions for a political dialogue. He said he was convinced that a way out of this situation could be found.
The conflict in Ukraine escalated in mid-April when Kiev launched a military operation against independence supporters in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, who refused to recognize the new government which came to power as a result of the February coup.
The Minsk agreements, reached on September 5 at a meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine, established a ceasefire regime in southeastern Ukraine. The memorandum, which followed the agreement was signed September 19 and specified the ceasefire's implementation. However, the independence supporters in the southeast and the government in Kiev, have frequently accused each other of violating the regime.
