"The Russian delegation at the OSCE PA held a meeting with the Ukrainian partners on the sidelines of an Assembly summit that is being held in Vienna," Tolstoy said adding that during the talks he expressed readiness "to return Kiev to the course of the Minsk agreements and to adhere to them point by point in order to reach the goal, to stop bloodshed and to sit at the negotiating table with DPR and LPR [Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics]."
According to Tolstoy, OSCE PA Secretary General Roberto Montella and OSCE PA President Christine Muttonen also took part in the talks. Muttonen suggested that heads of the Russian and Ukrainian delegations hold separate talks on the issue as a form of a more detailed approach to the crisis in Ukraine.
"We expressed readiness to talks to our colleagues in order to help them in the resolution of the crisis situation in our neighboring country," Tolstoy said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini discussed the situation in southeastern Ukraine on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on February 18.
Mogherini reiterated the European Union’s strong support for the full implementation of the Minsk peace agreements on Ukraine, underlining also Russia's responsibility in this regard, and expressed commitment to EU's engagement in accompanying the work of the Normandy Format and the OSCE.
