'Normandy Four' to meet in Berlin: France, Germany Russia and Ukraine to talk resolution
THE four nations that make up the Normandy Four will meet in Berlin next week it has been announced.
The leaders of Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine will meet in Berlin next week
The leaders of France, Russia, Ukraine and Germany have all been invited to dinner in Berlin on October 19 by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian Ambassador to France Aleksandr Orlov said today.
Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov told reporters that Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko would possibly meet in Berlin.
However Ukraine has not yet agreed to the summit.
Separatists delay withdrawal in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has not confirmed his attendance
Ukrainian diplomatic sources said a meeting of the kind should be held after a roadmap on the Minsk peace agreement is coordinated.
A source close to the negotiations said: "Ukraine has not agreed to participate in a 'Normandy Four' summit. A meeting will not be held until a roadmap envisaging compliance with the Minsk security provisions is coordinated.
The Normandy meeting was aimed at resolving of conflict in eastern Ukraine
The Normandy meeting was aimed at the resolving of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, the French Foreign Ministry said
In April 2014, Kiev authorities launched a military operation to suppress pro-independence militia in the eastern Ukrainian Donbas region. In February 2015, the two sides reached a ceasefire deal after talks brokered by the leaders of Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine — the so-called Normandy Format — in the Belarusian capital of Minsk.