German Foreign Minister’s visit to Moscow drawing special attention

On the background of cooling-off of the political dialogue between Berlin and Moscow, frostbitten by the crisis in Ukraine, the visit to Russia by Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who is expected in Moscow Tuesday afternoon, is drawing special attention, TASS reported.

Before arrival in Moscow, Steinmeier is expected to visit Kiev where he will confer with President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk.

A report at the official website of the German Foreign Ministry said the goal of the trip according to Steinmeier is to probe into the chances of averting a new deterioration of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

He also believes that, quite possibly, it is important now to seek new tasks that would help reduce tensions in relations between the EU and Russia.

Steinmeier stated the aggravation of the crisis in eastern Ukraine over the past several weeks and the increasing fragility of the ceasefire patterns established in the framework of the Minsk accords.

More and more reports on the movement of armed units and new combat clashes in Ukraine are coming, the report said, adding that Germany’s federal government was watching the pace of developments in Ukraine with intense concern.

Germany is deeply convinced that there is no military solution to the Ukrainian conflict and that is why a political solution is to be sought, an official spokesman for the ministry said.