BERLIN, August 18 (RIA Novosti) - The talks between the foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict were difficult but yielded some results, Germna Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said late Sunday.
“This afternoon and evening we spent many hours together … The talks were difficult, but I think and hope that we have made progress on particular issues,” the minister said, following the four-party meeting.
"The aim remains to bring about a ceasefire in Ukraine and to prevent future victims," Steinmeier added.
According to the minister, the talks were necessary in such a difficult time.
"We have been following the news tonight, and know that violent clashes happened again in Ukraine. I am grateful to my colleagues from Russia, Ukraine and France for accepting again the invitation to come to Berlin," Steinmeier said.
This is the second four-party meeting of the kind. During the previous talks on July 2, also in Berlin, the four foreign ministers agreed on a declaration that called for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Ukraine's southeast.
Kiev launched a special operation in eastern Ukraine in mid-April to suppress independence supporters, who refused to recognize the legitimacy of its new authorities. Moscow has repeatedly urged Ukrainian authorities to stop immediately the punitive operation and to seek a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
According to a report by the mission of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), a total of 1,367 people have been killed since the special operation in eastern Ukraine began, while nearly 117,000 of Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes and cross into neighboring Russia in search of shelter.
