"The sides continued to discuss the ways to promote the peaceful settlement of the situation in the south-east of Ukraine, including in the framework of the Minsk agreements. In this regard, [they] stressed the need for the early convening of the next meeting of the Contact Group," the statement said.
The ministers also discussed the schedule of further consultations in the so-called "Normandy format" on different levels.
The Contact Group, comprising representatives of Russia, Ukraine, DPR, LPR and the OSCE met in Belarusian capital Minsk on September 5 and 19, which resulted in a ceasefire agreement between the warring sides. They, however, repeatedly accused each other of violating the ceasefire.
On December 9, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko declared a "silence regime" in the in the conflict-torn Donbas region in the southeast of Ukraine in a bid to revive peace negotiations.
The most recent meeting between the warring parties took place on December 31 in the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic. The talks were described as a regular meeting to correct military action plans.
