'Normandy Format' Ministerial Talks on Ukraine Crisis Begin in Berlin

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Foreign ministers of Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine started the urgent round of talks on Ukrainian reconciliation in Berlin due to the recent escalation of the conflict.

Members of the Ukrainian armed forces drive armored vehicles in the town of Volnovakha, eastern Ukraine, January 18, 2015. - Sputnik International
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BERLIN, January 21 (Sputnik) — Foreign ministers of Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine started on Wednesday a new round of talks on Ukrainian reconciliation, a RIA Novosti correspondent reports.

The urgency of the meeting is emphasized by the escalation of violence in eastern Ukraine as the government forces have resumed active military operations against armed militia in the Donbas region.

On Tuesday, sources in the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's participation in Wednesday's talks.

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High-level and ministerial Normandy format meetings on Ukrainian reconciliation date back to June 2014, when leaders of the four countries met in Normandy, France to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the allied landings in World War II.

According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, "real de-escalation" of violence is expected at a high-level Normandy format summit in the Kazakh capital of Astana, with an exact date yet to be announced.

Despite a ceasefire agreement reached during talks in Minsk, Belarus in September and a "silence regime" introduced in the region on December 9, clashes between Kiev forces and Donbas independence supporters intensified in the first weeks of 2015.

The authorities of the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics repeatedly stated that Kiev was using the pause in violence to strengthen its forces and prepare for a new offensive.

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