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UKRAINE

‘Peace in Europe depends solely on Putin’: Ukraine PM in Oslo

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said he does not have "very high expectations" of a coming peace summit in Berlin, after a meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg in Oslo.

'Peace in Europe depends solely on Putin': Ukraine PM in Oslo
President Petro Poroshenko met Norway's King Harald V at the Royal Palace. Photo: Terje Pedersen/NTB Scanpix
“Let's not have very high expectations on this meeting,” Poroshenko told a press conference alongside Solberg. “Am I optimistic enough? Yes I'm very optimistic about the future of Ukraine but unfortunately not so optimistic about tomorrow's meeting.”
 
Poroshenko and the Russian, French and German leaders will meet in Berlin on Wednesday to “assess the implementation” of the Minsk agreement aiming to solve the Ukrainian conflict, which has now entered its third year.
 
Accusing Moscow of violating its commitment to the Minsk agreement, Poroshenko said: “peace in Europe depends solely on Putin.”
 

UKRAINE

Germany to support defence of Polish airspace

Germany on Monday said it had reached an agreement to help Poland protect its skies following a deadly rocket strike close to the border with Ukraine.

Germany to support defence of Polish airspace

Berlin would “send Patriot anti-aircraft systems to Poland and support the securing of Polish airspace with Eurofighter (jets)”, Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said in a statement.

READ ALSO: Germany to buy F-35 fighter jets in military shopping spree

Two people were killed last week when a missile landed in the Polish village of Przewodow, six kilometres (four miles) from the Ukrainian border.

Warsaw and NATO have said the explosion was likely caused by a Ukrainian air-defence missile launched to intercept a Russian barrage, but that Moscow was ultimately to blame because it started the conflict.

Before the deal was agreed, Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said he “welcomed the German proposal with satisfaction”.

Blaszczak said on Twitter he would propose for the systems to be “stationed close to the border with Ukraine”.

Germany has already sent Patriot anti-aircraft units to Slovakia, where Berlin hopes to keep them deployed for longer than currently planned.

The air-defence systems should remain in Slovakia “until the end of 2023 and potentially even beyond”, Lambrecht told the Rheinische Post daily.

“It is our utmost responsibility that NATO does not become a participant in this conflict,” while strengthening its air defences, she said.

READ ALSO: Germany and Spain to train Ukraine troops under EU programme

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