MOSCOW. May 29 (Interfax) - Former French president Valery Giscard d'Estaing has argued that the Ukrainian crisis, including the Crimea issue, is so serious that it cannot be resolved without a roadmap with a "specific timeframe," and that it is essential that the settlement deadline should be set before the end of 2015.
"It's a situation that's harming everyone - the Ukrainians, the Russians and the Europeans. When a situation is as bad as that, it should be dealt with through a plan and a specific timeframe," Giscard said during a presentation in Moscow on Friday of a book he has written.
"We have a plan - the Minsk agreements, which must be implemented, - and the deadline would have to be set before the end of this year," he said.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov, speaking at the same event, spoke highly of Giscard's presidential tenure.
"A great deal was done for Russian-French relations during the tenure of Valery Giscard d'Estaing," he said. "The first sprouts of Russian-French rapprochement that emerged at that time were used during the next decade."
Meshkov mentioned that this year would see the 40th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, which had been co-authored by Giscard and was the founding document of the Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe.
"This is a symbolic year for us all: the Helsinki Final Act turns 40 this year, and we are intensively getting ready for this date at international level. What can be done to ensure that principles and ideas that are enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act are followed by the OSCE member countries today as well?" Meshkov said.
"Mr. President participated in drafting this act, something we are very grateful to you for," he said.