President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, January 28, in his Instagram announced a telephone conversation with French leader Emmanuel Macron, during which the heads of state discussed the resumption of the Normandy format.
“A conversation with a friend and reliable partner of Ukraine Emmanuel Macron. We are pleased with the resumption of the work of the Normandy format – this is one of the steps for the sake of peace. As long as there is a favorable climate for dialogue, we need to fill the time with meetings and negotiations,” Zelensky wrote.
According to him, while diplomatic efforts continue, the possibility of a further escalation of the situation decreases.
Earlier that day, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Macron had a telephone conversation, during which the parties discussed the issue of providing the Russian Federation with long-term, legally secured security guarantees. When discussing the situation in Ukraine, the Russian leader emphasized the importance of Kiev’s strict compliance with the provisions of the Minsk agreements and other agreements, primarily on establishing a direct dialogue with the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) and legalizing the special status of Donbass. Russia and France also confirmed their commitment to further work in the Normandy format.
On January 26, a meeting of political advisers of the Normandy Four was held in Paris at the Elysee Palace. Representatives of Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine conferred for more than 8.5 hours.
The parties agreed on the need to maintain a truce and a ceasefire in Donbass, regardless of the discrepancies in the Minsk agreements, and also made an inventory of them. As head of the Russian delegation Dmitry Kozak noted, without a common understanding of all the provisions of the Minsk agreements, the Normandy format will not play a significant role in resolving the conflict.
He also noted that progress in the negotiations is “almost zero”. He also added that the negotiators requested a two-week pause to consider the demands of the self-proclaimed DNR and LNR, which are ignored by Kiev. He clarified that Ukraine has not presented its conditions or vision of ways to resolve the conflict.
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