Berlin: The foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France agreed on Wednesday that fresh ceasefire talks involving the OSCE should start no later than Saturday on crisis-torn Ukraine.
"Ministers urge that the Contact Group should resume no later than July 5 with the goal of reaching an unconditional and mutually agreed sustainable ceasefire," the four top diplomats said in a joint statement after talks in Berlin.
The so-called Contact Group represents Ukraine, Russia and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had hastily convened the talks as fighting escalated in Ukraine after the government had ended a 10-day ceasefire with pro-Russian rebels that Kiev charged had been violated over 100 times by the separatists, claiming some 30 lives.
The German minister warned that in the past 48 hours the situation had "dramatically escalated... and might get totally out of control".
In a bid to de-escalate the crisis, the four ministers agreed that the violence should cease on all sides, hostages be released, and Ukraine border points with Russia be brought back under government control.
The ministers said they welcomed Russia's readiness to grant Ukrainian border guards access to Russian territory to reach the border checkpoints Gukovo and Donetsk when a ceasefire is in place.
Steinmeier cautioned that "of course we are aware of the fact that this is not the solution, not a magic formula that will put everything right overnight.
"But I believe that this is a first and an important step in the direction of a bilateral ceasefire. It offers up an opportunity for us and for all of us to seize right now."
"Ministers urge that the Contact Group should resume no later than July 5 with the goal of reaching an unconditional and mutually agreed sustainable ceasefire," the four top diplomats said in a joint statement after talks in Berlin.
The so-called Contact Group represents Ukraine, Russia and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
The German minister warned that in the past 48 hours the situation had "dramatically escalated... and might get totally out of control".
Advertisement
The ministers said they welcomed Russia's readiness to grant Ukrainian border guards access to Russian territory to reach the border checkpoints Gukovo and Donetsk when a ceasefire is in place.
Advertisement
"But I believe that this is a first and an important step in the direction of a bilateral ceasefire. It offers up an opportunity for us and for all of us to seize right now."
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Record Heat Temperatures In Ukraine After Russian Attacks On Power Plants 10 Years On, 298 Victims Of MH17 Disaster Still Await Justice Berlin University Invites Applications For Master's In International And Development Economics Travel Influencer Aanvi Kamdar Dies After Falling Off A Waterfall Near Mumbai Amid Huge Row, Karnataka Pauses Bill For Reservation In Private Sector Firms UP Banker Dies By Suicide After 6 Months Of Bullying, Body-Shaming 3 Indians Among Crew Detained On Singapore Ship Carrying Drugs: Report Ensure Equal Rights For LGBTQ+ Community In Jail: Centre Writes To States Indian Envoy Assures Support To Bring Back Body Of Citizen Killed In Oman Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.