French, German ministers make statement after meeting with Zelensky

31.05.2019 10:49

Ukrinform

France and Germany have expressed support to Ukraine in restoring the country's territorial integrity, restarting the talks in the Normandy format at the highest level and continuing the reforms.

This is stated in a joint declaration made by French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas following their visit to Kyiv on Thursday, May 30, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"France and Germany remain strongly mobilized in favor of resolving the conflict in the east of Ukraine and restoring the territorial integrity of Ukraine. We welcome the reaffirmation by [Ukrainian] President [Volodymyr] Zelensky of the priority in restoring peace and his commitment to the Minsk agreements and the Normandy format to reach a negotiated solution with Russia," the ministers said.

They expressed to Zelensky their willingness to give a new impetus to this negotiation process.

The French and German foreign minister also said they were satisfied with their meeting with President Zelensky in Kyiv, which has reaffirmed the support of France and Germany to Ukraine in a period of great challenges for the country.

Le Drian and Maas raised concerns about the incident in the Kerch Strait, which showed that the risks of destabilization still remain significant.

Therefore, the ministers said, they met with the families of the Ukrainian seamen illegally imprisoned in Russia and expressed their support.

"France and Germany will continue to demand the unconditional release of the entire crew, as they have done for several months, and as was demanded by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea on May 25," the joint declaration reads.

The ministers emphasized that now it is more important than ever that Russia demonstrate the political will and responsibility to restore the atmosphere of trust between the parties. Gestures are expected from Russia, in particular, the immediate release of 24 Ukrainian sailors.

"Germany and France support the parties to help restore constructive talks. The discussions will continue soon with the parties, especially in order to meet the conditions for the holding of a summit of heads of state or government in the Normandy format," the ministers said.