At a joint briefing with Merkel, Zelensky stated the need for a meeting of the leaders of the “Normandy four” in order to achieve a settlement in the east of Ukraine. The President added that he wanted the US would like to participate in resolving the conflict in the Donbas
Vladimir Zelensky
The other countries participating in the Normandy format, which, in addition to Russia, includes Ukraine, Germany and France, should put pressure on Moscow to hold talks between the leaders of the states on resolving the situation in the Donbass. This was stated by the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky at a joint briefing with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the broadcast was conducted on the Facebook page of his office.
“It seems to me that all countries, we should all turn to the Russian side together and put pressure on the meeting to be held in the Normandy format, and yet we have ended the war in eastern Ukraine and returned our illegally annexed territories,” the president said. He added that he wanted the United States to take part in the settlement of the conflict in the Donbass.
Zelensky said that Germany and France have prepared steps to implement the Minsk agreements, Ukraine has supported this project, and now Russia has it. The Russian side, according to him, has not yet “accepted these steps of ending the war in the Donbass”.
Merkel said during the briefing that Ukraine should include in the legislation the so-called “Steinmeier formula”, which was agreed in October 2019. It regulates the introduction of a special status for the territories of Donbass not controlled by Kiev, as well as the withdrawal of forces and means in the region.
The German Chancellor also touched upon the topic of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline. According to her, Berlin stands for gas transit through the territory of Ukraine to be preserved after the launch of the pipeline. Merkel noted that she will discuss this issue at a meeting with US President Joe Biden.
Zelensky arrived in Berlin the day before. Earlier, on July 12, he held talks with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The Ukrainian leader was also supposed to meet with German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, but the talks were canceled.
The Normandy format has been in existence since June 2014 to resolve the conflict in the Donbas. The last meeting of the leaders of the “Normandy Four” was held on December 9, 2019 in Paris. In the final statement, they called for the establishment of a full-fledged truce in the territories of Donbass not controlled by Kiev, the introduction of amendments to the legislation of Ukraine in accordance with the “Steinmeier formula”, as well as the consolidation of the special status of Donbass in the country’s Constitution. Most of the items remain unrealized.
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