Yesterday at 16:33
February 23, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the Normandy format talks would not be abandoned, as the parties need to hold dialogue for a peaceful settlement of the situation around Ukraine. Merkur news agency reports it.
“Normandy format still exists. We will not abandon it. And there is still room for dialogue to resolve the situation around Ukraine,” Le Drian said.
As reported yesterday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz voiced hopes that the Normandy Four format would be revealed again.
Ukraine initiated an emergency summit of the Normandy Four after Russia’s decision to recognize the independence of the so-called “Donetsk/Luhansk Republics” in Donbas.
Earlier, the Kremlin stated that they do not see any point in holding a Normandy Four summit, but it is possible to hold it if there are concrete proposals.
Read also: Ukraine calls up army reservists in face of Russian threat
The Normandy Format, established in 2014, is a diplomatic group of senior representatives from Ukraine, Germany, Russia, and France formed to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Despite the fact that the Minsk agreements were signed seven years ago by representatives of Germany, France, Ukraine, and Russia, Kyiv and Moscow remain fundamentally divided when it comes to the document’s implementation.
February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to formally recognize the independence of two rebel-controlled regions in eastern Ukraine, breaching the 2015 protocol that ended the conflict in Donbas and further inflaming the tensions between the two countries.
