The Normandy Four negotiations to resolve Russia’s war in eastern Ukraine will resume on Dec. 9, the French presidential administration announced on Nov. 15.
The group — which includes Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia — will meet face-to-face in Paris. This will be the first meeting involving both Russian and Ukrainian presidents since the last Normandy Four meeting in Berlin in October 2016.
Iuliia Mendel, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s press secretary, confirmed that the meeting will take place.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has attempted to meet with his Russian counterpart since his inauguration on May 20.
On Sept. 5, Ukraine and Russia conducted the first prisoner exchange between the two countries since 2016. Russia released 35 Ukrainian nationals, including filmmaker Oleg Sentsov and 24 Ukrainian sailors, who were captured by Russia near the Kerch Strait together with Ukrainian ships in November 2018.
Ukraine also released 35 people, including Volodymyr Tsemakh, a suspect in the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in 2014, which killed all 298 people on board.
After the prisoner exchange, Zelensky sought to revive the Normandy format to relaunch peace talks in the Donbas region, where Russia has waged a war against Ukraine since 2014. Over 13,000 Ukrainians have been killed in the conflict.
Zelensky expected to schedule a Normandy Four meeting as early as August. However, Russia placed additional prerequisites for the meeting to take place.
Before the meeting, Ukraine was to agree to the so-called Steinmeier Formula, a peace plan promising the occupied regions self-governance after they hold local elections under Ukrainian law.
Additionally, the Ukrainian army and the Russian-led militants were to disengage forces from the frontline near the towns of Zolote in Luhansk Oblast and Petrivske in Donetsk Oblast.
On Oct. 1, Zelensky held a press conference saying that Ukraine had agreed to the Steinmeier Formula on paper and would disengage troops near Zolote and Petrivske following a seven day ceasefire.
In response, over 10,000 people took to the streets, protesting what they saw as capitulation to Russia’s demands.
Despite some ceasefire violation, Ukrainian forces and Russian-led militants rolled a kilometer back from the frontline, completing disengagement first in Zolote and later near Petrivske.
On Nov. 12, Ukraine stated that it had fulfilled all conditions placed on the country by Russia for the meeting to take place.
“All obstacles to the Normandy summit have been removed. A meeting of Normandy Four leaders in the near future will accelerate the settlement of all pressing issues to resolve the conflict,” wrote the press secretary of former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, who serves as his country’s representative in the Minsk talks with Russia.
