- i24NEWS
- International
- Europe
- Kremlin envoy: Moscow, Kyiv want east Ukraine ceasefire preserved
Kremlin envoy: Moscow, Kyiv want east Ukraine ceasefire preserved
'The ceasefire must be maintained,' Russia's envoy to talks in Paris said
![i24NEWS - AFP](https://cdn.i24news.tv/upload/image/1352b9caa849f9325c12157cf9dfc47bc0e3c73e.png?width=36&height=36)
![Kremlin's deputy chief of staff Dmitry Kozak (L) and Russian Ambassador to France Alexey Meshkov give a press conference at the Russian Ambassador's residence in Paris on January 26, 2022.](https://cdn.i24news.tv/uploads/09/c0/45/f0/21/2f/ae/55/85/e7/57/59/9d/d6/0f/f1/09c045f0212fae5585e757599dd60ff1.jpg?width=1000)
A Kremlin envoy said on Wednesday that Moscow and Kyiv agree on the necessity of preserving a ceasefire in east Ukraine, following a diplomatic meeting on Wednesday in Paris.
A joint statement said the two sides agreed to “an unconditional respect for the ceasefire.”
An aide to French President Emmanuel described the meeting as a litmus test to ascertain Russia's "desire to negotiate," saying it sent a “good signal."
The Kremlin's envoy, Dmitry Kozak, said that "despite all the differences in interpretations, we agreed that the ceasefire [in eastern Ukraine] must be maintained by all the parties in line with the accords."
Increased Russian troop presence along the border with eastern Ukraine ramped up tensions between Moscow and Kyiv, as well as with the West, leading France and Germany to broker talks.
Another meeting of the four countries is scheduled to take place in Berlin during the second week of February.
"We hope our colleagues have understood our arguments and that in two weeks we will achieve results," said Kozak.
Ukraine's envoy, Andriy Yermak, told reporters that the talks were "not easy."
"The support for the sustainable ceasefire is extremely important," Yermak said, while noting diverging interpretations of the 2014 Minsk Agreement that ended the worst of the fighting.
"The very important thing is that today’s communique is the first meaningful document we managed to agree on since December 2019," he added, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky's last meeting in Paris.