Normandy Quartet Summit Could Take Place in Paris - French Government

French government spokesman Stephane Le Foll said that a meeting of the leaders of the so-called Normandy Quartet countries, namely Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany, could be held in Paris.

PARIS, (Sputnik) – A meeting of the leaders of the so-called Normandy Quartet countries, namely Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany, could be held in Paris, though it is too early to speak of specific dates, French government spokesman Stephane Le Foll said Wednesday.

"The president has mentioned the possibility of such a meeting after talking to [German Chancellor] Angela Merkel. It could be held in Paris, but I cannot announce a specific date," Le Foll, who also serves as France's agriculture minister, told reporters.

The Normandy Quartet has been making efforts to secure a peaceful settlement to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which has claimed more than 6,800 lives since it started in April 2014, according to UN estimates.

In February 2015, the quartet worked out a ceasefire deal in Minsk, later signed by Kiev and the Donbas militia. The agreement stipulated an immediate ceasefire, heavy weaponry withdrawal from the line of contact in Donbas, and increased autonomy for the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

At the meeting in Berlin on Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko agreed to proceed with the work on the implementation of the Minsk agreements.

Prior to the consultations in Berlin, German government spokeswoman Christiane Wirtz said that the trilateral meeting of the German, French and Ukrainian leaders might be followed by a Normandy Quartet summit.