We, the Foreign Ministers of Germany and France, met today in Brussels with the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, on the sidelines of the Eastern Partnership Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Germany and France are steadfast in their unwavering support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Against the backdrop of renewed concerns about Russian movements of troops and hardware near Ukraine, we call on Russia to adopt a posture of restraint and provide transparent information about its military activities. Any new attempt to undermine Ukraine’s territorial integrity would have serious consequences.

We called on Ukraine to maintain a posture of restraint. Already in Spring 2021, Ukraine contributed significantly to the de-escalation of the situation, despite Russian aggressive rhetoric and failure to provide transparent information in line with its international obligations.

We also shared concerns about the deteriorating humanitarian and security situation in Donbas. We called on Ukraine to continue the full implementation of the Minsk agreements and to maintain its full engagement into the discussions conducted in the Normandy format.

We remain committed to the resolution of the conflict on the basis of the Minsk agreements. We express regret that Russia has repeatedly refused to meet at the level of Foreign Ministers in the Normandy format and once more express our readiness to meet and engage constructively and substantially. We repeat our call on Russia to do the same in order to achieve lasting peace in Donbas.

Germany, France and Ukraine will continue to exchange and coordinate closely on all matters of common interest and concern.