MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia expects the Normandy format summit in Germany to give new impetus for ceasefire accords in Donbass to be implemented in practice, Speaker of Russia's upper house Valentina Matvienko said Thursday.
"We hope that the meeting in Berlin will give a new impetus for the Minsk agreements to be carried out in practice," Matvienko told reporters.
Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine agree that the Minsk agreements must be the basis for the Ukrainian crisis settlement, Russian President Vladimir Putin said early Thursday following marathon talks in Berlin.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the sides also discussed the process of creating a road map on the Donbass settlement progress.
"Russia has advocated and continues to advocate for the implementation of a road map set out in [the Minsk agreements]. There is no other alternative," Matvienko stressed.
