KIEV, September 10. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has said that, if a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin is organized, it should be more substantive than the previous Normandy format negotiations (Germany, Russia, Ukraine and France). He also expects the next prisoner swap to be held, if such a meeting takes place.
"I am more interested in whether we can have a more substantive meeting," Zelensky said at the YES Brainstorming forum on Friday. He added that he would like to have a more meaningful discussion than during the first Normandy format meeting.
At the same time, he did not rule out that it would be possible to agree on another prisoner exchange, if a Normandy Quartet meeting was held. "If there is a Normandy format meeting, and we are working on that, there will be an exchange of detainees. <…> If there is a meeting, there will be some results," he stressed.
Zelensky admitted that he could not say how many people could be affected by the exchange, adding that he did not believe in the ‘all-for-all’ swap arrangement. In his view, Russia would hinder that process. He added that Kiev was willing to open new checkpoints along the contact line in Donbass.
The Ukrainian leader alleged that the Normandy Four meeting was not held due to Moscow’s reluctance to take part in the talks. "I believe that Russia does not want [this meeting] today," he said.
On Wednesday, the political advisors to the Normandy Four leaders held an online meeting. A source close to the talks told reporters that the conference had been convened at Germany’s request. The possibility of organizing another Normandy Four summit this year was the principal issue for discussion, likewise at Germany’s request. The French and German representatives pledged to draw up a declaration of a potential summit based on proposals from Russia and Ukraine.
On Thursday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that Kiev had intensified work to prepare another Normandy format summit. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described Ukraine’s calls for holding a Normandy Four meeting at an early date despite its refusal to implement the Minsk agreements as "foreign policy schizophrenia.".