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Zelensky says his phone conversation with Macron concerned Normandy format

As long as there is a favorable climate for dialogue, we need to fill the time with meetings and negotiations, President of Ukraine added

KIEV, January 29. /TASS/. President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky said that he had a telephone conversation with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and discussed the work of the Normandy format (Germany, Russia, Ukraine and France) on Donbass. He wrote about this on Instagram.

"[There was a] conversation with a friend and reliable partner of Ukraine Emmanuel Macron. We are pleased with the resumption of the work of the Normandy format - this is one of the steps for peace. As long as there is a favorable climate for dialogue, we need to fill the time with meetings and negotiations. As long as diplomatic efforts continue, the possibility of further escalation decreases," he wrote.

The so-called Normandy format of talks on Ukraine has existed since June 2014 when the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany who gathered in Normandy for the celebration of the 70th anniversary of D-Day discussed the settlement of the conflict in southeastern Ukraine for the first time. Since then, five more top-level meetings were held.

At the third meeting of the leaders held in February, 2015, in Minsk, a Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements was signed, which included, among others, a complete ceasefire and withdrawal of heavy weapons from the line of engagement of the conflicting parties. This set of measures has not yet been implemented.

The last fifth meeting of the Normandy format was held on December 9, 2019 in Paris. The decisions of that meeting have not been implemented by Ukraine either.

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