Meeting in ‘Normandy format’ in Paris ends without results

Foreign ministers of France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia failed to reach any agreement on restoration of security in Donbas and holding of elections in the militant-controlled territories.

This is said in the statement of the German Foreign Ministry following the meeting in Paris.

“The security situation in eastern Ukraine and the local election law remain the sticking points. Foreign Minister Steinmeier demanded that all the parties show willingness to cooperate in order to achieve tangible progress,” reads the statement.

According to Reuters, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault described more than four hours of talks as “frank, direct and without holding back” and said little progress appeared to have been made.

Ayrault reiterated the hope of the four ministers to hold the elections by the end of June. He also sought to show there was some momentum on commitments to finally withdraw heavy weapons, abide by the ceasefire and give full access to OSCE monitors.

In turn, Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin said that the ministers had not agreed on any decisions.

“Do not pay attention to different interpretations. No conclusions have been agreed. Our priority is security,” he posted on Twitter.

According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the proposal to reach an agreement on holding local elections before July was expressed by “our French and German colleagues.”

“We were ready to support it, but the Ukrainian side asked not to insist on it so no consensus was reached as a result,” Interfax quotes Lavrov as saying.