Opinions & Interviews

BREST, 3 December (BelTA) – Minsk was absolutely sincere when it offered to host the Normandy Four (Russia, Germany, France, and Ukraine) talks, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov said in an interview to the RTR Belarus Channel on 2 December, BelTA has learned.

“It was Alexander Lukashenko who offered Minsk as a venue for the dialogue of the Normandy Four that was formed in June 2014. It was a sincere offer. We immediately supported. So did Ukraine, Germany, and France. I remember those 17 hours without sleep and rest in February 2015 that resulted in a set of measures to regulate the Ukrainian crisis. It was unanimously endorsed by the UN Security Council,” Sergei Lavrov said.

According to the minister, the document remains the only non-alternative instrument that helps regulate the situation in eastern Ukraine. “The fact that not everything listed in the document is fulfilled is another story. I think that we will do our best by joint efforts, including through the use of Minsk which still serves as the venue for talks of the contact group and for the talks between the aides of the Normandy Four heads of state which, I think, may resume soon,” Sergei Lavrov said.