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Germany, France urge Ukraine to continue reforms for sake of stability

Xinhua, February 23, 2016 Adjust font size:

Germany and France on Tuesday called upon the Ukrainian authorities to fully implement the country's stalled reforms, including those prescribed in the Minsk ceasefire agreement.

"Reforms in Ukraine should not stop. The country needs both political stability and continuation of reforms," visiting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said during a joint press conference in Kiev with his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault.

In particular, Steinmeier stressed the need for Kiev to strengthen the fight against corruption and prepare local elections in areas controlled by independence-seeking insurgents in eastern Ukraine.

Neither Germany nor France sees an alternative to the Minsk deal to peacefully settle the Ukrainian crisis, and every single provision of the agreement should be implemented, said Steinmeier.

For his part, Ayrault noted some progress in Ukraine's reform process since the new government came to power in November 2014, stressing that Kiev still has much work ahead to carry forward the reforms.

"Over the past 14 months, the current Ukrainian government has carried out many reforms, but still, there is a lot to be done on this path," said Ayrault.

"It requires efforts from a cabinet that is able to make progress in reforms and an effective parliament that is capable of passing necessary legislation," he said.

The foreign ministers of the two countries arrived in Kiev on Monday for a two-day visit amid a new round of political crisis that gripped the East European country.

Last week, the Ukrainian government survived a no-confidence vote in the parliament and the pro-Western ruling coalition lost its legislative majority in the assembly, raising fears that Kiev could once again call early elections.

The Minsk ceasefire agreement, reached in early 2015 in the Belarusian capital by the leaders of the Normandy Four which consists of Germany, Russia, France and Ukraine, aims to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine that erupted in 2014, with more than 9,000 people killed so far. Endi