President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, I am very pleased to meet with you here in Austria. I know that you and the OSCE are making great efforts at present to bring about a change for the better in the situation in Ukraine.
Our joint efforts have succeeded in getting the first contacts between Ukraine’s east and the authorities in Kiev underway. But unfortunately, this is not enough.
I am very happy to have this chance to meet with you to discuss the full range of issues here.
President of the Swiss Confederation and Osce Chairperson-In-Office Didier Burkhalter (retranslated): Thank you, Mr President, my dear colleague, for this chance to talk once again. I think that our direct contacts and dialogue are very important, as is the fact that we reach agreement so quickly on holding these meetings.
We have entered a very delicate phase now, and it is essential to find and agree on at least a partial solution over the coming days. I hope that all sides will do their bit to achieve this.
We have both expressed our support for the peace plan. Now we must discuss what concrete forms this support can take.
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