The leaders of Ukraine, France and Germany will hold three-way talks on Friday on Ukraine’s confrontation with Russia over the conflict in the eastern Donbass region, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video released to the press on Thursday.
Zelenskiy will travel to Paris to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron and speak with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a video conference, he said.
The meeting will lay the groundwork for a meeting in the so-called “Normandy” format, he said, although he gave no indication of whether or when such a meeting could take place.
The “Normandy” talks involve the leaders of France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia and have not taken place since December 2019.
“… This is an important preparatory meeting for the Normandy format,” Zelenskiy said, adding that “the situation in Donbass is now under control.”
Ukraine and Russia have blamed an increase in violence in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian troops have clashed with Russian-backed forces in a conflict that Kiev says has killed 14,000 people since 2014.
Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Russia of accumulating “provocative” troops near Ukraine’s eastern border and annexing Crimea.
Zelenskiy also thanked Turkey for its support and said Ukrainian tourists should visit Turkey after Russia restricted travel there.
The Turkish government said earlier on Thursday that it did not choose a party to the confrontation and supported a diplomatic solution. Read more
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