. Presidents of Russia and Ukraine Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky, as well as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, arrived in Paris for the summit in the “Normandy format”.
Before the beginning, which is scheduled for 18.00 Moscow time, bilateral negotiations between the participants of the meeting should take place.
It is expected that the event will last 2 hours and 45 minutes, after which the participants will come out to the press conference, and then Putin and Zelensky will hold the first talks.
“The Normandy format” is a diplomatic group consisting of representatives of Germany, Russia, France and Ukraine to resolve the situation in Donbas. The format appeared in June 2014: during the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Allied landing in Normandy, the leaders of the four countries for the first time discussed ways of de-escalation in south-eastern Ukraine.
In February 2015, the Normandy Four signed the Minsk agreements providing for a cease-fire and reconciliation of the parties, but the fighting is still ongoing.