16 Apr 2020 20:03

Normandy-format foreign ministers plan to discuss situation in Ukraine in videoconference format

MOSCOW. April 16 (Interfax) - The foreign ministers of the countries involved in the Normandy-format negotiations on Donbas, i.e., France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine, are preparing to meet in a videoconference format, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss the situation in Ukraine, the Foreign Ministry said.

"The ministers agreed to take into account the development of the situation in preparing a videoconference among the foreign ministers of the Normandy-format participating countries, the date of which will be agreed upon later," the ministry said.

Lavrov informed Maas of a number of examples of Kyiv's unconstructive steps obstructing the comprehensive implementation of the Minsk Package of Measures, it said.

The Russian and German foreign ministers also discussed the situation in the world in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

"The ministers shared the opinion that the international community should combine efforts to fight the epidemic and its spread and that politicizing the coronavirus infection subject is unacceptable," it said.