German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has said "we remain far away from a de-escalation and even further away from a political solution" in the Ukraine conflict, a day after meeting Vladimir Putin, reports GHN based on DW.
After his surprise meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin, Frank-Walter Steinmeier issued a sober analysis of global chances to solve the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
"Sadly, we remain far away from a de-escalation and even further from a political solution," Steinmeier said in Berlin Wednesday after talks with his Polish counterpart, Grzegorz Schetyna. However, the foreign minister added that September's ceasefire deal, signed in Minsk, had given "small momentum" to the diplomatic drive, urging the West not to give up on a negotiated settlement.
Schetyna said all EU countries needed to see the resolution of the Ukraine conflict as their "shared concern," calling the crisis "a test for Europe's ability to take political action." Poland borders Ukraine.
The Social Democrat Steinmeier warned that the situation was in danger of escalating again after the partial calm secured two months ago. During his trip to Moscow, he said that he noted "dramatically differing perceptions" of events in Ukraine, with Russia citing last February's ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych as the root cause of the conflict.