German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be hosting Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Berlin amid efforts to revive the stalled peace process in Ukraine, a government statement said on Monday.
Merkel and Poroshenko are expected to discuss the implementation of the Minsk ceasefire agreement between Kiev, alongside bilateral issues, the Kremlin and pro-Russian separatists, which is part of efforts to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
The Minsk ceasefire agreement was drawn-up by the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, which consisted of representatives from Ukraine, Russia, and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
The group was established in June 2014 as a way to facilitate dialogue and resolution of the strife across eastern and southern Ukraine.
According to the statement, Merkel and Poroshenko are also expected to discuss Ukraine’s bid for EU membership.
According to the UN, the war in Ukraine has claimed around 10,000 lives since it erupted in February 2014 following the ouster of its pro-Russian president amid mass protests calling for closer ties with the European Union.
Russia condemned the ouster as a Western-backed coup and annexed the peninsula of Crimea the following month.
Ukrainian forces continued to fight separatists in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, in spite of a ceasefire under the February 2015 Minsk agreement.
Russia is thought to be arming the movement, in spite of its denying any military involvement. (dpa/NAN)
