Four-way conference on Ukraine to be held in Paris on December 9
The French Presidential Office has just announced that the Four-Party Conference on Ukraine including France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine will be held on December 9 in Paris.
In an announcement released on the evening of November 15, the French Presidential Palace Elysees said that the four-party conference on Ukraine under the Normandy format was held after the parties noted important progress on the ground in eastern Ukraine in recent times.
The conference, which will be held in Paris on December 9, is expected to include Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Zelensky, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron. On the evening of November 15, Ukraine confirmed that President Zelensky will be in Paris.
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| Russian and French leaders confirm intention to hold Normandy Four Summit. (Source: AFP) |
This is considered a major diplomatic effort by host France because the last time a 4-party conference under the Normandy format was held was 3 years ago, in October 2016 in Berlin.
The intention to re-organize a summit in this format was promoted by French President Macron after Ukraine had a new President and France made moves to warm up relations with Russia in the past few months, especially after the Macron-Putin bilateral meeting in France right before the G7 Summit in August 2019 in Biarritz.
The goal set by France for the upcoming four-party conference in Paris is to promote the progress achieved in recent times in eastern Ukraine, such as the withdrawal of some separatist forces in Donbass or the exchange of prisoners between the Ukrainian government and separatist forces.
The ultimate goal that France and European countries are aiming for is the comprehensive and thorough implementation of the Minsk agreement on the conflict in Ukraine, which has been frozen for the past 3 years due to conflicts between Russia and Ukraine./.
