No formal basis for implementation of Minsk political steps - Merkel

12:31, 18.02.2017 1 min read

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has stated there are no formal grounds for the implementation of the political part of the Minsk agreements to settle the situation in the east of Ukraine.

"I understand the situation so that there are two major problems. The Minsk agreements proceeded from the fact that we from the first day after ceasefire will take all political steps. But we failed to ensure ceasefire within three or four days. Therefore, from a formal point of view, now we cannot start the political process," she said during the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.

However, according to Merkel, since Ukraine declared its readiness to discuss the issue, various sub-groups were set up in the Trilateral Contact Group, which are now functioning.