Foreign Ministers of the Russian Federation, Germany and France Discussed Donbass

Maas and Le Drian also discussed with Lavrov the presence of Russian troops near Ukraine's borders and called for compliance with the Vienna Convention. Foreign Ministers of Germany and France Heiko Maas and Jean-Yves Le Drian held telephone talks with their Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, discussing the settlement of the situation in Donbass. Reported by the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany Maas and Le Drian reportedly urged Russia to comply with "transparency requirements" based on the Vienna Convention, discussing the recent movement of Russian troops and military exercises near Ukraine's borders. The ministers discussed the implementation of the Minsk agreements and the results of the 2019 Paris summit, noting that "Russia was also called upon to make a positive contribution to the settlement of the conflict." "The forthcoming first anniversary of the agreement on additional measures to stabilize the ceasefire on July 22 may serve as a goal to reaffirm the observance of the ceasefire," Maas and Le Drian said. Paris added that they expressed deep concern over the deteriorating security situation along the contact line in eastern Ukraine and reaffirmed their commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. As you know, today Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will visit Germany, where he will meet with Maas. Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Germany and France are afraid to recognize Russia as a party to the conflict in Donbass. And before that, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, together with French President Emmanuel Macron, said that the Normandy format should work further, despite the fact that it is very difficult to make progress within its framework.