International Shia News Agency

German foreign minister: Ukraine crisis outlook bleak

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association)- Germany says the prospects for the resolution of Ukraine’s crisis are bleak, citing aggravation of confrontation in the conflict-stricken country.

“There are no grounds for optimism in the current situation,” German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in Moscow on Tuesday.

The senior German diplomat, who was speaking at a press conference after talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, referred to a “dangerous” escalation of fighting in the east of Ukraine as the reason for his pessimism.

He appealed to all sides not to abandon the Minsk ceasefire agreement, which was signed by representatives of Ukraine, Russia, the Donetsk People’s Republic, and the Lugansk People’s Republic in the Belarusian capital on September 5 in an effort to halt the war in eastern Ukraine.

Steinmeier, though, said, “Even if there are reasons to say that the most important obligations have not been fulfilled, abandoning this document would be a great loss.”

“The Minsk agreements are not perfect, but it is the only thing that has been supported by all the key players — the European Union, the United States, the parties to the Ukrainian conflict and Russia,” he noted.

The two mainly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in Ukraine have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia protesters and the Ukrainian army since Kiev’s military operation started in mid-April in a bid to crush the pro-Moscow protests.

Violence intensified in May after the two flashpoint regions held local referendums in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine and joining the Russian Federation.

Source:PressTV

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