‘Need more time’: Intense Minsk talks enter 12th hour

Published time: February 12, 2015 04:27

From left: Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Francois Hollande, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at Independence Palace in Minsk. (RIA Novosti/Viktor Tolochko)

The leaders of the ‘Normandy Four’ – Russia, Germany, France, and Ukraine – are continuing their roller coaster talks at the Minsk Palace of Independence. Their attempt to find a solution to the Ukraine crisis has been dragging on for almost 12 hours.

LIVE UPDATES: ‘Normandy 4′ Ukraine peace talks in Minsk

During the first hours of deliberations, the talks took place in a wider format, before the leaders retreated to strike a compromise in a closed door session. All of the leaders reportedly took short breaks throughout the negotiations.

For Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Minsk peace negotiations became one of the longest in his political career, TASS reports. The importance of the talks was so great that German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier decided to delay his departure to Brazil.

“The talks in Minsk are not easy and are continuing,” he said.

READ MORE: Will ‘last chance’ talks in Minsk bring peace to Ukraine?

“More time is needed” became the slogan used by participants of talks, as journalists waited outside. “There is progress, but it is not a simple conversation. More time is needed,” one source told Sputnik.

After the wider format talks involving full delegations concluded, Russia’s foreign minister left the deliberation room and said the talks were moving along “actively, better than super.” Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin’s senior foreign policy adviser, Yury Ushakov, described the talks as “quite intensive.”

Before Merkel, Poroshenko, Hollande, and Putin continued the negations in a narrow format, it was reported that a document on settling the crisis was being drafted, and would then be handed over to the Normandy Four leaders for approval.

“Right now the contact group is finalizing and handing over [the] signed and agreed document and then [leaders of the Normandy Four] will either approve it or not. Right now, the ‘Normandy summit’ is discussing possible variants of the document,” Russian Ambassador to Belarus Alexander Surikov said some four hours into the talks.

While the exact points of discussion remained behind closed doors, the Contact Group envoys were reportedly focusing on practical implementation of the Minsk agreements, including working out details and procedures for heavy weapons withdrawal, as well as the framework and dates for a ceasefire plan.