Ukraine to initiate talks with Normandy Four leaders on deteriorating Donbas situation
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said during a joint press conference with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama that Ukraine plans to initiate new talks with Germany and France regarding the non-implementation of the Donbas ceasefire agreements that were reached in Paris.
Prystaiko pointed out that this weekend in the eastern part of the Donbas, two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 10 were wounded.
“As for the Minsk process and the intensification of the shooting – we are alarmed by this, without a doubt,” the foreign minister remarked.
He said that Kyiv has discussed the recent shelling with the head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is monitoring the situation in Eastern Ukraine.
“I think that Ukraine will react to such shelling. We’ll try urgently to get in touch with our partners from Normandy, because, just like you, we can see that the agreements aren’t working,” Prystaiko observed.
Ukrainian President Zelensky also discussed with the head of the OSCE the possibility of extending the Special Monitoring Mission’s mandate in the Donbas.
On December 9, the first Normandy summit since 2016 was held in Paris. The participants supported a ceasefire, the exchange of prisoners in the format “all for all” by December 31, and agreed to give the Red Cross access to all detainees. The parties also agreed to disengage forces in three areas, extend the OSCE SMM’s mandate, and continue demining.