KIEV, May 16 -- Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak on Tuesday reiterated Kiev's commitment to resolving the conflict in eastern regions through peaceful means, the defense ministry press service said in a statement.
During talks in Berlin with Markus Ederer, state secretary of the German Federal Foreign Office, Poltorak said the key to ending the conflict lies in the political and diplomatic spheres, according to the statement.
The Ukrainian defense chief thanked Germanyfor its role in helping settle Ukraine's conflict, the statement said.
Germany is a member of the so-called Normandy Four, a diplomatic group also including Ukraine, Russia, and France, which is tasked to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine between government troops and pro-independence rebels. The unrest has claimed about 10,000 lives since April 2014.
Poltorak arrived in Berlin on Monday for an official visit, which marked the Ukrainian defense minister's first official visit to Germany in 10 years.
