MOSCOW. Dec 24 (Interfax) - The Russian Defense Ministry expects that a meeting of the trilateral contact group on eastern Ukraine set for Wednesday in Minsk could help the parties reach an agreement on de-escalating the conflict, as there is every precondition for this, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov told journalists on Wednesday.
The meeting's main objective is to help representatives of Kyiv and the Luhansk and Donetsk regions sit at the negotiating table, so that they "determine steps for de-escalation and the establishment of peace and stability," he said.
Antonov said he had "a firm conviction that everybody has the desire to end" the conflict.
"I expect today's conversation in Minsk to end positively," Antonov said, adding that he could not calmly watch women, children, and elderly people killed under artillery fire.
"There is the desire to tell comrade Poroshenko: establish order and stop the bloodshed!" he said.
"Every precondition has been provided" for honoring the peace accords, he said.
"I think today's conversation would serve as a certain step for implementing the Minsk agreements," he said.