German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Monday that both Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists were violating a ceasefire agreement in eastern Ukraine and it would likely be difficult to resolve the crisis in the short term. This was reported by 112.ua referring to Reuters.
"It's very difficult to find a way out after so many years. Of course we are trying, but it does not look like we will have a (short-term resolution) of the difficulties in the region", - he told.
Gabriel said he backed continued efforts by the Normandy format group to resolve the crisis, but observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) were not optimistic, given the situation in the region.
"I have no good messages on this issue", - he said.
Germany and France are doing everything possible to bring Russia and Ukraine back to the negotiating table, he said.
Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron said that the meeting of the leaders of the Normandy Four will be held in late June or early July. He stressed that the situation in the Donbass for three years creates great problems for both the local population of Ukraine, Europe and Russia.