Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavel Klimkin believes that the format of the Normandy Four group (Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France) that is negotiating the Donbass settlement issue, lacks alternatives.

"Apart from the Normandy format, there are no platforms for discussions as of today," he said in an interview aired by the ICTV television channel.

As reported earlier Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the Normandy format meetings between the leaders are out of the question in the wake of the murder of DPR head Alexander Zakharchenko. According to Lavrov, "this is a serious situation that needs to be analyzed."

Lavrov described the assassination of DPR head Alexander Zakharchenko as a provocation aimed at derailing the Minsk agreements.

DPR head Alexander Zakharchenko was killed in an explosion in downtown Donetsk last week. The DPR law enforcement agencies have detained several suspects who confirmed Kiev’s involvement. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) earlier denied any role in the Donetsk blast.