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Moscow's negotiator Dmitri Kozak (left) and Russia's French ambassador Alexei Meshkov in Paris on Wednesday
Photo: AFP
During the negotiations to resolve the Ukraine conflict, the conflicting parties in Paris agreed on a joint declaration for the first time since the end of 2019 - and on a commitment to the ceasefire agreed in 2020.
The unconditional observance of the ceasefire was supported, it was said after the consultations between Russia and Ukraine, moderated by Germany and France.
The appointment took place on Wednesday in Paris in the so-called Normandy format and lasted about eight and a half hours.
The Normandy meetings are about the implementation of the Minsk agreements that ended the fighting in eastern Ukraine in 2015.
Russia called on the government in Kiev to engage in dialogue with the forces in the Donbass crisis area.
Moscow negotiator Dmitry Kozak said after the crisis talks that Kiev now had two weeks to work out a position.
Then there should be a follow-up meeting in Berlin, also at the consultant level.
Kosak, Russian President Vladimir Putin's representative for the Ukraine conflict, complained that the government in Kiev reacted negatively or not at all to humanitarian requests and other contact attempts from eastern Ukraine.
To date, the Ukrainian government has not presented any prospects for the contested parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
That runs contrary to all experience in resolving conflicts, said Kosak.
"You won't find a clear position anywhere."
A new summit under Franco-German mediation with Ukraine and Russia will only be possible if there is prior agreement on the planned legal status of the Donbass and on holding elections there.
Kosak complained that there were different perspectives on the Minsk peace plan.
However, implementation of the Minsk resolutions is a prerequisite for a non-violent solution to the conflict.
“We see that the ceasefire is working”
Kiev negotiator Andriy Yermak confirmed that there are significant differences of opinion between Moscow and Kiev.
At the same time he welcomed: "We can see that the ceasefire works, there have been a few provocations, but it works." Above all, work is now being carried out on mechanisms to strengthen it.
Meanwhile, observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) confirmed that the ceasefire has been more stable since the beginning of the month.
There has been a 70 percent decrease in violations.
In the conflict, which has been going on for almost eight years, Russia is demanding direct talks between Moscow-backed separatist leaders and the Ukrainian government.
Kiev rejects this and describes the rulers in Luhansk and Donetsk as "Moscow puppets".
Germany and France are mediating in the conflict – in the so-called Normandy format.
However, their negotiated peace plan is on hold.
According to UN estimates, more than 14,000 people have been killed in fighting between Ukrainian government troops and pro-Kremlin separatists in Donbass since then.
What Germany and France said after the meeting
The German side then spoke of intensive and difficult talks, which once again made it clear that both Ukraine and Russia continue to see the Minsk Agreement as a basis. It had been a useful exchange, even if no substantial progress had been made. For the first time in a long time, however, there had been direct contacts between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations and it had been agreed that they would continue at regular intervals.
As the Élysée Palace announced after the meeting, the participants in the deliberations support the unconditional observance of the ceasefire and full support for measures to strengthen the ceasefire of July 22, 2020, regardless of differences on other issues related to the implementation of the Minsk agreements.
They remain committed to overcoming current differences in future work, it said.
France assessed the meeting as difficult but with a good result.
The fact that the meeting took place at all is also a sign that Russia is getting involved again.
NATO and USA respond to Russia's security demands
Also on Wednesday, NATO and the United States responded to Moscow's demands for guarantees of security in Europe.
According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the US government's written responses were fully coordinated with Ukraine and European allies.
Blinken said that the Russian demand for commitments to end NATO's eastward expansion had once again been rejected.
He also warned Moscow of "massive consequences" in the event of an invasion of Ukraine.
Blinken confirmed that work is being done to increase Ukraine's defense capabilities.
You can find out more about this in this detailed report.
aar/dpa