Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus V.Makei participates in the conference “Minsk Agreements one year later: Achievements, Challenges and Lessons”

11-02-2016

On February 11 2016, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Vladimir Makei, welcomed the participants to the conference “Minsk Agreements one year later: Achievements, Challenges and Lessons”, arranged within the framework of the expert platform “Minsk Dialogue”.

V.Makei reminded that exactly one year ago the capital of Belarus became the venue of the historic meeting of the Normandy Four leaders: the Presidents of Russia, Ukraine, France and the German Chancellor. The agreements, reached in Minsk, and their implementation have played a key role in de-escalation of tension that was off the scale at that moment in the Eastern Ukraine. Up to the present day, Minsk Agreements is a generally accepted conflict-settlement mechanism.

V.Makei noted the importance of the work of the Trilateral Contact Group and its thematic subgroups, held also in Minsk. “In fact we need real and daily “small steps” for de-escalation and regulation, — said Vladimir Makei. — It is necessary to constantly generate the critical mass of change, which meets everyone's expectations and leads to the establishment of peace in the region”.

Special Representative of the OSCE Chairman in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group, Martin Sajdik, also welcomed the audience to the event.

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