Germany: Foreign Ministers gather for 'Normandy 4' talks over Ukraine Crisis

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier hosted a 'Normandy format' diplomatic meeting at the foreign ministry's guesthouse Villa Borsig in Berlin, Monday. Steinmeier invited the foreign ministers of France, Laurent Fabius, Ukraine, Pavlo Klimkin and Russia, Sergei Lavrov, to discuss and try to resolve the crisis in Ukraine. Before the diplomatic meeting, Steinmeier stated that the situation in Ukraine eased. "We can be glad that the ceasefire that went into effect on September 1 is being more or less maintained. The situation in the eastern Ukraine has calmed a little bit down since then. It is good but it is not enough," he said. Steinmeier went on to say that "a lot" depends on the implementation of the Minsk agreements. "A lot depends on it right now, not only the ceasefire but withdrawal of light weapons and upcoming withdrawal of heavy weapons as well. All this is moving towards the right direction," he stressed. According to Steinmeier, one of the most difficult tasks at the moment is holding elections in Ukraine. "The most difficult tasks are regarding the political process - preparation of the elections in the eastern Ukraine and the fulfilling of the conditions that we need for election. It is not only election law on which we have agreed but a security situation which will actually allow to conduct elections," the German Foreign Minister noted. The conflict in Syria is also likely to be discussed during the meeting, after the Kremlin announced that it started conducting airstrikes against militant targets in Syria, on September 30.