The summit in Paris in the “Norman format” may leave an aftertaste of disappointment, said Yulia Mendel, spokesman for Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.
In France, a summit in the “Norman format” will be held on December 9. Leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany Vladimir Putin, Vladimir Zelensky, Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel will take part in it. This format of negotiations on Ukraine has existed since June 2014. Then, during the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy, the leaders of the four countries first discussed the settlement of the conflict in the Donbass.
“Yes, on December 10, the war in Donbass will not end, it’s true. High expectations from Normandy, as it has already been dubbed by the people, can bring an aftertaste of disappointment,” the Ukrainian president’s spokeswoman wrote on Facebook on Sunday.
However, she believes that a meeting in Paris could accelerate peace in the Donbass. “Remember the phrase:“ While the diplomats are talking, the guns are silent “? The“ Norman meeting ”on December 9 is an opportunity to silence the guns. Nothing else is working. That is, the“ Norman format ”is one of the victories in achieving peace. Because without it there’s no way to talk, and then no way to understand how to move on, “Mendel stressed.