Europe signals progress on Ukraine
Published October 17, 2014
Oct. 17, 2014: German Chancellor Angela Merkel, front left, Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, center, and French President Francois Hollande arrive for a meeting on the sidelines of the ASEM summit of European and Asian leaders(AP Photo/Daniel Dal Zennaro, POOL)
MILAN European leaders and Russia signaled cautious optimism over a peace deal for Ukraine after a high-level meeting in Milan on Friday, but emphasized details still need to be worked out.
European leaders are pressing Russian leader Vladimir Putin to fully respect a cease-fire deal signed last month in Belarus, which has reduced by not completely ended hostilities in eastern Ukraine.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the leaders agreed the need to verify the cease-fire, to hold local elections in eastern Ukraine in compliance with Ukrainian law and to control the border areas.
He said further meetings would discuss how to implement the broad agreements.
One proposal being discussed on the sidelines by the Russian, Ukrainian and Italian foreign ministers is using drones to control the border areas, an Italian foreign ministry official said.
Italian Premier Matteo Renzi said he was "positive" following the nearly two-hour meeting bringing together Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko with the leaders of Germany, France, Britain and Italy.
"We cannot accept an unstable Ukraine and so we will do all in our power to give back hope to Ukraine," Renzi told reporters.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the talks were difficult but constructive, adding that leaders of Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine will hold a separate meeting later Friday to continue the discussion.
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Europe signals progress on Ukraine