MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia does not see a reason to expand the Normandy Quartet on Ukrainian reconciliation by adding the United States to the talks at present, Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said Monday.
"We are not 'allergic' to this [US joining the talks], as our foreign minister [Sergei Lavrov] has stated on numerous occasions, but we should stick to the established format for now, there is no need to expand it," Karasin told reporters.
The Normandy Quartet, which has brokered the Minsk peace accords between Kiev and the self-proclaimed Lugansk and Donetsk people's republics, comprises Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine.
The mid-February meeting of leaders of the Normandy Quartet resulted in a 13-point agreement aimed at deescalating the conflict in southeastern Ukraine. Both Kiev forces and Donbass independence supporters agreed to a ceasefire and the withdrawal of heavy artillery from the line of contact, among other provisions.
