Germany Saw the “Light at the End of the Tunnel" in the Situation in Donbass

Berlin calls on Russia to constructive efforts to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine, said Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Wednesday, August, 21, before flying to Moscow for talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. “There is, in terms of the ceasefire, separation of forces and implementation of the Minsk agreement, finally again hope for a light at the end of the tunnel,” said Maas. “Now all parties must demonstrate their commitment for dialogue and actions, otherwise people will continue to die in this conflict,” the German Foreign Minister said. The Normandy format meeting President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in a telephone conversation on August 6 called on Russian leader Vladimir Putin to hold Normandy format meeting in the near future and to “stop the war.”Ukrainian head of state told reporters that he was going to speak on this issue with the President of France, Emmanuel Macron and, if possible, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Germany, along with France, Russia and Ukraine, is one of the participants in the Normandy format. “Totally Different views of Berlin and Moscow” Before the meeting with Lavrov, Heiko Maas emphasized that Berlin and Moscow now have “totally different views in many areas”. “We should talk about this, since only with the involvement of Moscow we may achieve results on important international topics. For this, direct conversation and open dialogue are necessary,” the German minister says. As possible topics for negotiations with the Russian Foreign Minister, Maas, along with the situation in Ukraine, mentioned the situation in Syria, the security problem in the Persian Gulf and the prospects for international arms control. Earlier, in an interview with Deutschlandfunk radio station, Heiko Maas expressed confidence that to the termination of the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty) there should be signed new agreements between countries possessing nuclear weapons. DW