January 31, Ukraine : Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a phone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss a recent meeting of the Normandy format on the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Zelensky’s press service reported Saturday.
At the talks, the two leaders welcomed the meeting of advisors to the Normandy Four leaders, which marked the intensification of the Normandy format, said the press service. Zelensky and Macron welcomed the joint statement between the participants of the meeting. Advisors to the heads of state and government of France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia met on Wednesday in Paris under the Normandy format and called for an unconditional ceasefire in the Donbas region of Ukraine, where an armed conflict has been underway since April 2014.
During the talks that lasted for about eight hours, the parties agreed on a joint statement, the first since December 2019, and decided to hold the next meeting in Berlin in two weeks. The two presidents had agreed to push forward the work in the Normandy format and speed up the next meeting of political advisors to the Normandy Four leaders. Zelensky and Macron also emphasized the need to intensify the work of the Trilateral Contact Group for the settlement of the situation in Ukraine to make rapid progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements.
The group, consisting of representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, was formed to facilitate a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Donbas. “As long as there is a favorable climate for dialogue, we need to fill time with meetings and talks. As long as diplomatic efforts continue, the risk of further escalation is decreasing,” Zelensky said.
