Russia Says Normandy Talks Failed To Bring Results

Negotiations of political advisers to the leaders of countries participating in the Normandy format (Russia, Ukraine, Germany, France) failed to generate a breakthrough, as it proved impossible to overcome differences regarding the interpretation of the Minsk agreements, Russian envoy Dmitry Kozak told reporters after the meeting. His comments were telegraphed by Russia's state-owned news agency TASS.

• "Unfortunately, almost nine hours of negotiations ended without any visible, tangible results (...)," Kozak said while calling the situation in Ukraine a "stalemate."
• Kozak noted that France and Germany were "sympathetic" to the demands outlined by Russia in Thursday's round of negotiations, but were not ready to pressure Ukraine.
• According to the official, Kyiv refused to sign off on a joint statement, which would propose resolving issues surrounding the status of self-proclaimed republics in the Donbas region in consultation with separatist leaders.
• Kozak noted that when it comes to further progress in negotiations "everything depends on Kyiv," but Ukraine has been firmly rejecting any proposals to draw Donbas separatists into the talks.