BERLIN, July 4. /TASS/: There was a detailed discussion at the Berlin meeting of political advisers to the leaders of the Normandy Quartet countries (Germany, Russia, Ukraine and France), but there is hardly any reason to say a breakthrough was achieved, the deputy chief of the Russian presidential staff, Dmitry Kozak, told the media on Friday.
"I won’t dare say there was a breakthrough," he said. "We had a no easy and fundamental discussion on all aspects of settling the conflict in accordance with the Minsk Accords," Kozak said. "Much time had to be spent on clearing up Ukraine’s attitude to the package of measures and other Minsk agreements," he said, adding that "very different interpretations are heard from Kiev," including those of the meaning and interpretation of the agreements.
"Alongside this we managed to come closer at last - I would not say to agree on a final version, but to come closer - to the adoption of a package of extra measures for putting an end to fire exchanges," Kozak said, adding that the previous three months of discussions in the contact group had failed to bring about any result.
"The way we see it today, we have come close to a situation where at the forthcoming meeting of the Contact Group we will manage to adopt a concrete package of extra measures," Kozak said. "As for the final document, some of its details remain unsettled. We agreed to negotiate them by telephone."
The political advisers’ talks in Berlin lasted for about ten hours. Taking part in them were Russia’s deputy chief of the presidential staff Dmitry Kozak, German chancellor’s adviser Jan Hecker, French presidential adviser Emmanuel Bonne, and head of the Ukrainian presidential office Andrei Yermak.
