German FM Expects No Sensations at Normandy Format Meeting on Ukraine

© Sputnik / Alexander Vilf / Go to the mediabankGerman Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. (File)
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. (File) - Sputnik International
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German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier does not expect any sensations from the Normandy format ministerial meeting on Ukraine in Minsk on November 29, German Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer said Monday.

BERLIN (Sputnik) — Statements by officials give no grounds to hope and expect a sensational breakthrough in Minsk deal's implementation, he said.

"I will not tell you a big secret if I say that Steinmeier's expectations regarding the results of tomorrow's meeting are, frankly speaking, limited. The intensive preparation, talks and consultations of the past weeks, just as public statements by conflicting parties, unfortunately, give no grounds to hope and expect a sensational breakthrough in Minsk [agreements'] implementation tomorrow," Schaefer told a briefing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, background 2nd right, and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, foreground right, during the Normandy format meeting between the leaders of Germany, Russia, Ukraine and France on settling the Ukrainian conflict, at the Paul Loebe Haus parliamentary building in Berlin, October 19, 2016. Background 3rd right: German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Background left: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Background 3rd left: Russian Presidential Aide Vladislav Surkov. - Sputnik International
US Not Planning to Join Normandy Format Talks on Ukraine Settlement
Establishing an armed mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Donbass is far from implementation, the German Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

"OSCE German representative [Frank-Walter] Steinmeier is making efforts to get support for implementation within the OSCE framework of what the Ukrainian president has demanded for a long time and what the Russian president has supported.

"The truth is that we are currently rather far from making the decision to organize such an armed police mission in Donbass. I believe this could be agreed or even decided at the OSCE's ministerial meeting in Hamburg next week on December 8-9," Schaefer added.

The Normandy Four group which comprises Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine was created in 2014 to secure a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. In February 2015, the quartet leaders worked out a ceasefire deal in Minsk, Belarus, signed by representatives of the Kiev authorities and the People's Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.

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