France proposes a meeting of the Normandy squad by the end of January

France today spoke of a meeting of the Normandy faction (France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine) “until the end of January” as well as a “gesture” by Kiev in trying to renew the momentum for resolving the Ukrainian crisis.

The Kremlin’s envoy to the peace talks in Ukraine, Dmitry Kozak, “agreed to resume negotiations in the form of Normandy at the level of diplomatic advisers,” the French presidency said.

“We think we can have a first meeting (at this level) by the end of January,” Elize added at the end of a joint diplomatic visit between French President Emanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Solz in Moscow and then in Kiev.

Russia has been ignoring this format of talks for months, aimed at implementing the Minsk Peace Accords (2015) on the Ukraine crisis, and is referring to a first meeting of the four leaders in 2014 in Normandy, western France.

The meeting will take place just before the “cancellation of the (Ukrainian) bill of the so-called transition, which is not in line with the Minsk agreements,” the French presidency added.

The bill, drafted in the summer of 2021, refers to the “transitional period” in Donbas, pro-Russian separatist territory in eastern Ukraine, and in Crimea – annexed to the Russian Federation in 2014 – until their “reintegration” into Ukraine.

The bill recognizes Russia as an “aggressor and occupier state,” which Moscow categorically rejects.

“This first Ukrainian gesture calls for a response from the separatists / Russia, so that we can then move on to substantive issues,” the French presidency said.

Paris has acknowledged, however, that it remains uncertain what will follow. We have to see “whether the Ukrainians and the Russians really keep their commitments.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today called for a quadripartite summit with Moscow, Paris and Berlin to “end the conflict” with the separatists, amid international tensions with Russia.

“Volodymyr Zelensky is not a client of either President Putin or Russia. And therefore Vladimir Putin wants to put pressure on him rather than negotiate with him,” the Elysee Palace said.

Tensions with Ukraine have been high for months. Russia, which is accused of plotting an attack, has mobilized tens of thousands of troops across the border.

Source: AMPE