Lavrov Calls for New Normandy Format Talks on Ukraine

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the time has come for a fresh round of talks on Ukraine in the Normandy Format.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The time has come for a new round of talks on Ukraine in the four-party Normandy Format, which also includes Germany and France, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday.

"I believe that the time is ripe for a fresh round of talks on Ukraine in the Normandy Format," Lavrov said after meeting his Iraqi counterpart Ibrahim Jaafari in Moscow.

The minister also called on Germany and France "to immediately take necessary joint steps in order to prevent deterioration of the situation" in Ukraine.

According to Lavrov, deputy foreign ministers from the four countries could meet as early as next week, but more senior officials could also join the talks.

Last month, the Normandy Quartet brokered the Minsk ceasefire accord between Kiev and the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics.

The 13-point deal also included the pullout of all heavy weapons from the contact line, an all-for-all prisoner exchange and granting special status to the breakaway regions.

The Normandy Format countries' leaders first met in June 2014 in France looking to end hostilities in eastern Ukraine. The fighting has killed more than 6,000 people, according to UN figures, since the armed conflicted erupted in April 2014.