Putin hopes conflict in Ukraine will be resolved soon

(Baonghean.vn) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 16, in a statement about the possibility of a meeting between the leaders of the "Normandy Four" in Berlin, said that further negotiations related to resolving the conflict in Donbass can only take place when the parties truly desire a peace agreement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: EPA.

"I hope that the ongoing conflict in Donbass, Ukraine will not last forever and that the whole problem will be resolved as soon as possible," Mr. Putin said.

Mr. Putin also reminded the leaders of Germany and France that the meeting in Berlin will only take place if representatives of the two countries intensify dialogue to reach a peace agreement in Donbass following the meeting between the parties in Minsk on October 15-16.

Mr. Putin shared that without dialogue, it is still too early to confirm the organization of the "Normandy Four" meeting in Berlin.

The negotiations within the framework of the “Normandy Four” including Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine aim to bring about a peace process for Ukraine.

Efforts within the framework of the “Normandy Four” led to the Minsk 1 and Minsk 2 agreements signed in September 2014 and February 2015 respectively, temporarily ending the bloody fighting between Ukrainian government forces and Donbass separatist forces.

This was followed by significant progress in the level of dialogue between the conflicting parties. However, since then, there has been no progress in the implementation of the Minsk 2 Agreements, with fighting continuing in the East, and a special status for Donbass still a distant concept.

Currently, the issue of implementing the terms of the Minsk 2 agreement is still causing headaches for the "Normandy Four" because the parties accuse each other of not implementing this agreement, and war can break out at any time.

Thanh Hien

(According to Tass)