Minsk format only basis for negotiations btw parties to Ukrainian conflict — Lukashenko

MINSK, January 29. /TASS/. Minsk format is the only basis for talks between the parties to the conflict in Ukraine, President Alexander Lukashenko told a news conference for Belarusian and foreign reporters on Thursday.

"I can’t imagine any other possible format," he said.

Should a new format be invented, it will not bring about anything, Lukashenko said.

"Information has appeared on other formats - the Normandy format and so on - but in fact there is no other framework and reformatting would be very hazardous because it would mean only a loss of time," he said.

"We can invent new formats, no doubt, if we want to start everything from scratch but this will mean the Minsk consultations will be crossed out this way," he said

"At the very least, we’ve reached something here already," Lukashenko said.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko insists on keeping up the Minsk negotiations of the Contact Group for Ukraine, he said.

A total of 95% of accords on settling the conflict in south-eastern Ukraine exists already and only 5% remains to be emplaced, he said.

Lukashenko added that the ‘five percent’ means to eliminate the differences in positions of the parties to the conflict.

"If the decisions we'd reached had been fulfilled in one way or another, there would have been peace now," he said.

Belarusian Foreign Ministry said earlier on Thursday that a new meeting of the Contact Group for Ukraine would hold a new round of consultations in Minsk on January 30.

The press release said the ministry would report on the time and venue of the talks somewhat later.