Frank Walter Steinmeier

Merkel sees "ray of hope" in Minsk deal

MINSK -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that the agreement in Minsk was "a ray of hope" but that "much work remains to be done."

According to her, there is hope now of progress in the peace process.

VIENNA - Serbia's Foreign Minister and Chairperson of the OSCE Ivica Dacic and Swiss and German foreign ministers Didier Burkhalter and Frank Walter Steinmeier said on Monday the composition of the Panel of Eminent Persons on European Security as a Common Project had been decided.

The Foreign Ministers of four countries have agreed on measures which could lead to a bilateral ceasefire in the east and south of Ukraine.

Their meeting came after a ten-day truce ended late on Monday, with both Ukrainian authorities and pro-Russian rebels in Donetsk and Luhansk claiming the other side had violated it many times.