France sees a chance for the Normandy format talks to advance following the latest meeting of advisers in Paris, French Ambassador to the United States, Philippe Etienne, said on Monday when asked about topics of discussion between the French and Russian leaders in Moscow
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th February, 2022) France sees a chance for the Normandy format talks to advance following the latest meeting of advisers in Paris, French Ambassador to the United States, Philippe Etienne, said on Monday when asked about topics of discussion between the French and Russian leaders in Moscow.
On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. The following day, he will head to Kiev.
"And then the topics which will be discussed not only in Moscow but also in Kiev. You know, France and Germany are the mediators in the Donbas crisis and members of the so-called Normandy format together with Ukraine and Russia, and we see a possibility here, maybe, maybe, to move forward based on the first meeting of the advisors which took place in Paris two weeks ago," Etienne said in a conversation on Washington Post Live.
Political advisers to the French, German, Russian, and Ukrainian leaders gathered in Paris in late January for talks last eight and a half hours.
Russia's negotiator at the Paris meeting, Kremlin Deputy Chief of Staff Dmitry Kozak, described progress in the talks as "virtually zero so far" and expressed the hope that the next meeting, scheduled to take place in Berlin in February, will be "more constructive."
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said last week that the Normandy format of talks had been brought back to life in recent weeks.
