Normandy Four Foreign Ministers End Meeting on Ukraine in Paris

The meeting of Russian, Ukrainian, French and German (Normandy Four) foreign ministers, dedicated to the discussion of the Ukraine peace process, has ended in Paris.

PARIS (Sputnik) – The talks lasted for four hours.

"We did not make any deep conclusions but simply confirmed the necessity of strict implementation of what had been agreed upon," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after the talks, which lasted for four hours.

Lavrov also said that the Paris talks were largely dedicated to the security situation in Ukraine, particularly the pullout of weaponry from the line of contact between the conflicting sides.

The group of four countries – dubbed "Normandy Four" after their leaders met during WWII Normandy landings' anniversary celebrations in northern France – has been holding regular meetings on the Ukraine conflict since June 2014.

Kiev launched a special military operation in Ukraine’s southeastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions in April 2014, in response to local residents’ refusal to recognize the new coup-installed government.

In February 2015, a peace agreement was signed between the two sides in the Belarusian capital, Minsk. The deal stipulates a full ceasefire, a weapons withdrawal from the line of contact in eastern Ukraine, an all-for-all prisoner exchange and constitutional reforms, which would give a special status to DPR and LPR (Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republic).