Press Advisories

12. 2. 201522:36

Statement by Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka on the Minsk talks

I welcome the agreement that has been reached. I am confident that the bloodletting will genuinely come to a halt on Sunday. This is a positive step in the right direction, especially if it is confirmed that the agreement includes the withdrawal of heavy weaponry, the exchange of prisoners, the departure of foreign units and the resumption of the Ukrainian government’s control over its border with Russia.

Now, it is important that Ukraine and Russia strive to implement all of the steps that have been agreed. I would like to applaud the important role played by Europe, especially Germany and France, in stemming the escalation in eastern Ukraine, which – especially in recent weeks – has again started to take on tragic dimensions. I believe that we stand at the start of a process which will lead to a permanent political solution to the crisis in the east of Ukraine.

Bohuslav Sobotka, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic