In Berlin, negotiations in the Norman format were completed

In Berlin, negotiations in the Norman format with the participation of the leaders of France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia ended. It is reported by Ukrinform. The meeting began at about 19:30 Moscow time and continued with a break of about five hours.

In addition to President Petro Poroshenko, the Foreign Minister Pavel Klimkin and the deputy head of the presidential administration Konstantin Eliseev participated in the negotiations from the Ukrainian side. The Russian side was attended by Vladimir Putin, his assistant Vladislav Surkov and the head of the Foreign Ministry Sergei Lavrov.

The four -sided meeting was preceded by Poroshenko’s negotiations with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and France President Francois Hollande. As the journalist of the Kremlin pool Dmitry Smirnov wrote on his twitter, when at the end of these negotiations, Putin entered the hall, the Ukrainian and Russian leaders did not exchange a handshake.

It was assumed that negotiations on the situation in Ukraine will last until 22 hours Moscow time, after which the tripartite meeting of Merkel, Hollande and Putin dedicated to Syria will begin. However, the meeting lasted about five hours.

The Ukrainian delegation insisted on agreeing on a roadmap regulating the implementation of the Minsk agreements. The positions of Kyiv and Moscow regarding the necessary steps fundamentally vary. Ukraine insists that, before fulfilling the political part of the agreements, it is necessary to ensure security in the territories of Donbass and the Azovs controlled by pro-Russian militants: to stop military operations, to withdraw weapons and ensure Kyiv control over the Ukrainian-Russian border. Meanwhile, Russia seeks that the political part of the agreements is first implemented, which consists in providing the occupied areas of special status and holding elections there.

The day before, Poroshenko said that, "unfortunately, it is not very optimistic about tomorrow's meeting." The chances that Moscow will agree to sign the proposed project of the roadmap is small, the Ukrainian leader noted.

Before Putin’s arrival, a group of activists arranged for the Reichstag, where the meeting was held, protested against bombing in Syria, which until the very recent time led the Putin regime. The demonstrators laid out several dozen toy bears doused with red liquid, and the fragments of bricks, and also stretched the flag of Syria and the poster demanding to stop bombing the children in Aleppo.

Activists called on Merkel during her meeting with Putin to pay special attention to this issue.