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Ukrainian president confirms readiness to take part in Normandy Four talks

The Normandy Four group was established in 2014, when the leaders of Russia, France, Germany, and Ukraine, for the first time, discussed ways to resolve the Donbass conflict

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky

© Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP

KIEV, July 28. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has confirmed his readiness to take part in the Normandy Four talks on resolving the situation in Donbass, which also involve Russia, Germany, and France. However, the talks depend on Moscow, Zelensky said in an interview with Ukrainian TV channels on Monday.

"I once again confirm my readiness to take part in the Normandy format. I believe that there will be a meeting, [but] everything depends on Russia. There is no need to accept the ball from some Russian media outlets [about Kiev being to blame for a delay in the talks - TASS]," he said.

Deputy Chief of Staff of the Russian Presidential Executive Office Dmitry Kozak said in June that it was no point making preparations for a Normandy Four summit due to the lack of progress on the previous agreements.

The Normandy Four group was established on June 6, 2014, when the leaders of Russia, France, Germany, and Ukraine, for the first time, discussed ways to resolve the Donbass conflict during the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the D-Day allied landings in the French region of Normandy. Five summits have been held since then, with the last one taking place in Paris on December 9, 2019. Over the past months, negotiations have mostly involved political advisors and the foreign ministers of the group’s member states.

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