The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has passed on to its colleagues in the Normandy Four (Germany, Russia, Ukraine, France) proposals on topics for the upcoming meeting and is awaiting a response. This was announced on Sunday, October 31, by the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry Sergei Lavrov.
“We conveyed to our colleagues our proposals on how the next contact in the Normandy format could be thoroughly prepared – no matter at what level. We expect a reaction from them, “he said on the air of the TV channel. “Russia 1”.
According to Lavrov, Western diplomats say that “it is necessary to meet as soon as possible,” but so far the Russian Foreign Ministry has not conveyed its vision of the expected results of the meeting.
On October 25, German Ambassador to Russia Geza Andreas von Geir announced that a meeting in the Normandy format is currently being prepared, but the date has not yet been determined.
A week earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov assessed the prospects for a meeting in the Normandy format. According to him, preparation of the foundation is necessary for such a scenario. Also, the press secretary of Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed out that Ukraine is currently introducing a draft law on a transitional period, which implies Kiev’s withdrawal from the Minsk agreements.
Peskov added that it is very difficult to negotiate with the Ukrainian leader, since he considers Russia a participant in the conflict in Donbass, although this is not true.
On October 13, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that Kiev was waiting for a signal from Moscow to hold a meeting of the Normandy Four Foreign Ministers. He also expressed the opinion that the meeting between the presidents of Russia and Ukraine could take place both within the framework of the Normandy format and beyond. However, according to him, Russian officials only comment on such a possibility, but do not give any answer.
In response to this statement, Viktor Vodolatsky, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots, in an interview with Izvestia, stressed that Russia had repeatedly declared its readiness to sit at the negotiating table with the Ukrainian side, but Kiev, “being incapacitated, does not have autonomy in making decisions ”.
Since 2014, the Kiev authorities have been conducting a military operation against the residents of Donbass, who refused to recognize the results of the coup d’etat and the new government in Ukraine. At the same time, Kiev blames Moscow for the current situation. Russia has repeatedly stated that it is not a party to the internal Ukrainian conflict. The issues of its settlement are being discussed in the Minsk and Normandy formats.
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source https://pledgetimes.com/russian-foreign-ministry-conveyed-to-the-west-proposals-for-a-meeting-in-the-normandy-format/
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