BERLIN
The German government has said it has stepped up its efforts for reaching a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis and called on all parties to take steps towards implementing the Minsk truce agreement.
German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Wednesday that Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s will pay an unofficial visit to Berlin on Friday for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel on the recent developments in Ukraine.
Nazarbayev has recently stepped in to try and help find a political solution to the crisis and carried out extensive talks in Moscow and Kiev last month to host a summit in Astana on Jan.15 between Russian, Ukrainian, German and French leaders.
Seibert said at a press conference at the Federal Press Centre: "I cannot tell for the moment if and when such a meeting will take place."
"The important thing is that for such a meeting to take place there should be concrete steps."
He underlined that all sides should work towards implementing the Minsk agreement signed in the capital of Belarus on Sept. 5, which called for a cease-fire between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces which has not been respected.
'Open questions'
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk is set to meet Chancellor Merkel on Thursday in Berlin.
On Wednesday, Yatsenyuk had separate meetings with German President Joachim Gauck and Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel.
Germany’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Martin Schaefer confirmed on Wednesday that foreigner ministers of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine are planning a teleconference on Friday in order to discuss the latest developments and remaining disagreements.
On Monday, high-level diplomats of the four countries met in Berlin to achieve progress for the implementation of the Minsk agreement.
Schaefer told journalists that the delegations had achieved progress in some points but some “open questions” still remained.
At least 4,707 people have been killed and 10,322 wounded in the conflict between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine since mid-April, according to the UN.
Since the September ceasefire, 1,357 fatalities have been recorded.
