Four-way talks on ending a separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine finished without a breakthrough Tuesday, with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier declaring that “lip service” statements were not enough to achieve lasting peace.
Amid low expectations, the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia met in the Belarussian capital to discuss ways of implementing last year’s Minsk cease-fire accord for Ukraine’s Donbass region.
Steinmeier said both Ukraine and Russia had hardened their positions and there was no political agreement in sight on holding local elections in Donbass, as demanded by Russia and the Kremlin-backed separatists.
“It was very tedious again today,” Steinmeier …read more
Source: Voice of America
