French President Francois Hollande, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have welcomed the gas agreements reached between Ukraine, Russia and the EU, the press service of the Ukrainian president has reported.
“During a phone conversation, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, French President Francois Hollande, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed the gas agreements reached between Ukraine, Russia and the European Union,” the report says.
The sides also reaffirmed their commitment to the consistent implementation of the Minsk agreements as a basis for a peaceful settlement in Donbas and repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire, with monitoring and verification by the OSCE. The sides agreed that the settlement of the conflict must be achieved while preserving the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, especially in the context of the “elections” scheduled in Donbas for November 2.
In this context, Ukraine, Germany and France expressed a common clear position that they would not recognize the elections scheduled by separatists, because they conflict with the Minsk agreements, in particular, Clause 9 of the Minsk protocol of September 5, which defines the need to hold early local elections in parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions only in accordance with Ukrainian legislation. They also urged Russia not to recognize the elections.
The sides also stressed the importance of continuing the work of the trilateral contact group involving Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE.
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