Interfax: Kyiv expects deal on full implementation of Minsk agreements – foreign minister

KYIV. Feb 11 (Interfax) – Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin expects that the leaders of Ukraine, France, Germany and Russia will reach understanding on implementing the entire package of the Minsk agreements at their meeting in Minsk on Wednesday.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in Kyiv on Wednesday, Klimkin said there had been very intensive consultations between deputy foreign ministers of the four countries on Tuesday. “There was also the Trilateral Contact Group’s meeting with Donetsk and Luhansk representatives yesterday,” he added.

“A key message from Minsk [on Wednesday] should be, first, real joint vision of the implementation of the entire package of the Minsk agreements. Second, we need Russia’s support and willingness to work on all elements of the Minsk agreements. Third and a key one: we should secure a real ceasefire, along with the withdrawal of heavy artillery and along with the OSCE’s monitoring of this process and elements of control over the Ukrainian-Russian border,” he said.

“We urgently need the OSCE Monitoring Mission to have the opportunity to fully supervise the Ukrainian-Russian border. This is what is going to be the key points of today’s negotiations,” Klimkin said.

It was reported earlier that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin planned to hold a meeting in the so-called Normandy format in Minsk on February 11.