French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, following the results of trilateral negotiations, called on Russia to withdraw troops from the border with Ukraine.
The negotiations of the leaders of the powers took place as part of the working visit of Vladimir Zelensky to Paris. During the meeting, they touched upon, in particular, the situation on the border between Russia and Ukraine.
“They (Macron and Merkel. – Ed.) Shared concerns about the growth of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine and in the illegally annexed Crimea. They called for the disbandment of these reinforcements in order to de-escalate the situation, ”the statement on the website of the German government said on Friday, April 16.
Also, Macron and Merkel expressed support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. They stressed the need for full implementation of the Minsk agreements and spoke in favor of continuing work in the Normandy format.
Earlier on the same day, Zelensky said that he was ready to discuss the situation in Donbass in the format of the Normandy Four with all the leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Zelensky also pointed out that Ukraine is ready at any time to return to a meaningful diplomatic dialogue on Donbass. He stressed that the country expects any scenario for the development of events, but Ukraine is striving for a peaceful settlement of the conflict.
On April 14, the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed Russia’s readiness for meetings in the Normandy format, but indicated that Kiev should not abandon the dialogue with the self-proclaimed Donetsk (DPR) and Luhansk (LPR) People’s Republics.
The so-called Normandy format of negotiations on Ukraine has existed since June 2014. Then, during the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the landing of the Allied troops in Normandy, the leaders of Germany, Russia, Ukraine and France for the first time discussed the settlement of the conflict in Donbass. The previous summit was held in Paris on December 9, 2019.