10 Dec 2021, 20:20Updated at: 10 Dec 2021, 20:52

US will be interested in Normandy format if it has a say there — Ukrainian president

Vladimir Zelensky said that it is important that the United States plays a significant role in the settlement of the situation in Donbass

KIEV, December 10. /TASS/. The United States will take part in the Normandy format (Germany, France, Russia, Ukraine) of talks on the settlement in Donbass if it has a say in it but is not a mere moderator, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said on Friday, commenting on his telephone talks with US President Joe Biden.

"I think the United States will be interested in the Normandy format, if it can decide anything in it but not merely moderates the process or watches it from a distance," he said in an interview with the 1+1 television channel. He said that it is important that the United States plays a significant role in the settlement of the situation in Donbass but there can be "a separate format" for that, which will "cooperate with the Normandy Four."

Talks in the so-called Normandy format over Ukraine began to be held in June 2014. During special ceremonies on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the allied landings in Normandy during World War II, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany for the first time discussed ways of settling the conflict in Donbass. A number of telephone conversations and summit meetings, as well as contacts between foreign ministers, have been held since then. The latest summit in the Normandy format was held in Paris in December 2019. In the recent months, talks have been held at levels of political adviser and foreign ministers.

Ukraine’s authorities have repeatedly said that the Normandy format could be expanded by admitting other participants, first of all the United States.

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