MOSCOW, November 12 (RIA Novosti) — German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier plans to arrive in Moscow next Tuesday to discuss current situation in Ukraine with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, Kommersant newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Before arriving in Moscow, Steinmeier plans to visit Kiev, the newspaper reported, citing a source in German Foreign Ministry’s press service.
According to the Kommersant's sources, during both visits, de-escalation of Ukrainian crisis will be the main topic of discussions.
Earlier this week, during his trip to the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana, Steinmeier said that the situation in Ukraine gets more complex and called on all sides of the conflict to follow the Minsk agreements.
The crisis in Ukraine escalated in April, when Kiev authorities launched a military operation against independence supporters in eastern Ukraine that refused to recognize new government, which came to power after a February coup.
Following months of bloodshed, a ceasefire agreement was reached by the Ukrainian government and independence supporters on September 5 in Minsk. Since then, both the Ukrainian military and local militia have repeatedly accused each other of violating the ceasefire.
