Klimkin

Representatives of the European Commission, Russia and Ukraine will talk today on gas issues despite the forthcoming two-month holiday of the EU Energy Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, TASS reported.

Ukraine security service official Igor Guskov told Ukrainian television on Friday that at least seven Serbian mercenaries were fighting in eastern Ukraine as part of a private Russian military unit, called Wagner, one of whom was now dead.

Ukrainian FM Pavlo Klimkin has met with Ukrainian Ambassador to Serbia Oleksandr Aleksandrovych to discuss "current issues in bilateral relations."

Aleksandrovych was last week summoned to Kiev for consultations.

A truce between government forces and pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine will come into force on Feb. 20, Moscow and Kiev said, though some separatists were already labelling it unfeasible.

The Feb. 18 announcement comes after nearly 30 people lost their lives as violence flared again earlier this month in a conflict that has left more than 10,000 people dead since April 2014.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu will pay a visit to Ukraine on Feb. 9 and 10 on the occasion of the fifth meeting of the Joint Strategic Planning Group, a Foreign Ministry statement said on Feb. 8. 

Çavuşoğlu and his Ukrainian counterpart, Pavlo Klimkin, will review all dimensions of bilateral relations and discuss new cooperation opportunities, the statement said.

A meeting of foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany intended to shore up a shaky peace process in eastern Ukraine ended Nov. 29 without any visible progress.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters after the talks that "there were no breakthroughs," adding that sharp disagreements on security and other issues remain, The Associated Press reported.

Ivica Dacic has called on all signatories of the agreement from Minsk to respect what they signed and work on the implementation of the agreement.

Dacic, who is Serbia's foreign minister and OSCE's chairperson in office, made the comments in Kiev on Friday after his meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and OSCE officials.

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov and his Ukrainian counterpart Pavlo Klimkin discussed the possibility of launching a ferry on the Danube connecting the two countries.

At their meeting on Monday, Mitov and Klimkin also discussed plans for the repair of the road between Odessa and Reni, TASS news agency reports.

Ivica Dacic talked on Friday over the phone with his Russian and Ukranian counterparts Sergei Lavrov and Pavlo Klimkin about the situation in Ukraine.

Dacic is Serbia's foreign minister who also serves as OSCE chairperson-in-office.

Serbian FM won't travel to Kiev after "change of format"

BELGRADE -- Ukraine has "changed the format" of its marking of the anniversary of WW2 victory over fascism, and Serbian FM Ivica Dacic will not be attending.