France and Germany made a joint statement on Ukraine
France and Germany expressed their readiness to President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky to give a new impetus to the negotiation process in the Normandy format, and also discussed the incident in the Kerch Strait, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
This is stated in a joint statement by the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian and the German Minister of Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas, released by the French Embassy in Ukraine.
“We are pleased to meet today with President Zelensky as part of the first joint visit to Kiev, which was an opportunity to once again demonstrate the support that France and Germany provide to Ukraine at a time of many challenges that this country faces,” the joint statement said .
They expressed satisfaction that Zelensky once again confirmed the priority of restoring peace, as well as dedication to the Minsk agreements and the Normandy format.
“We expressed to President Zelensky our readiness to give new impetus to the negotiation process, after five years since the start of the conflict, which has caused more than 13 thousand deaths and from which civilians in eastern Ukraine are still suffering. We also discussed the incident in the Kerch Strait, which demonstrated last November that the risks of destabilization remain significant. That is why we met with relatives of sailors detained by Russia since November in violation of international law, to show our support for these families who are going through the ordeal of being away from loved ones,” the statement said.
The foreign ministers of France and Germany said their states would continue to demand the unconditional release of the entire crew, as required by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in its May 25 decision.
“Today, more than ever before, Russia must demonstrate the political will and responsibility to restore an atmosphere of trust between the parties, rather than escalate tensions. We are waiting for gestures from Russia, in particular, the immediate release of 24 sailors illegally detained since November 25. Germany and France stand with the parties to help restore constructive debate. Discussions with both sides will soon continue, in particular with the aim of creating preconditions for holding a summit of heads of state or government in the Normandy format, diplomats said.
Earlier today, the foreign ministers of Germany and France discussed with Zelensky the restoration of the Minsk process in Kyiv.
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