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Normandy Four Leaders Committed to Full Implementation of Ceasefire in Donbass by Year-End

© AP Photo / Thibault Camus French President Emmanuel Macron, second left, Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrive for a working session at the Elysee Palace Monday, Dec. 9, 2019 in Paris. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's president are meeting for the first time at a summit in Paris to find a way to end the five years of fighting in eastern Ukraine. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, Pool)
  French President Emmanuel Macron, second left, Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrive for a working session at the Elysee Palace Monday, Dec. 9, 2019 in Paris. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's president are meeting for the first time at a summit in Paris to find a way to end the five years of fighting in eastern Ukraine. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, Pool) - Sputnik International
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Normandy Four leaders have confirmed their commitment to the full implementation of the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine by year-end, according to a communique adopted following the Normandy Four meeting in Paris.

"The sides commit to a full and comprehensive implementation of the ceasefire, strengthened by the implementation of all necessary ceasefire support measures, before the end of the year 2019," the document said.

According to the joint statement, the disengagement of troops in new locations in Donbass is slated for late March 2020.

"They will support an agreement within the trilateral Contact Group on three additional disengagement areas, with the aim of disengaging forces and equipment by the end of March 2020," the document said.

The Normandy Four leaders also pledged to support "an agreement within the Trilateral Contact Group, within 30 days, on new crossing points along the line of contact, based primarily on humanitarian criteria."

The Normandy Four leaders also encouraged the Trilateral Contact Group to facilitate the release and exchange of conflict-related detainees by year-end, based on the "all for all" principle.

The document added that the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international organizations will receive full and unconditional access to all persons detained as a result of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

The Minsk agreements on the Donbass settlement continue to be the basis for the work of the Normandy Four, according to the communique.

"The Minsk agreements [Minsk Protocol of 5 September 2014, Minsk Memorandum of 19 September 2014 and the Minsk Package of 12 February 2015] continue to be the basis of the work of the Normandy format whose member states are committed to their full implementation," the document said.

The leaders agreed that the Steinmeier formula should be integrated into the Ukrainian legal system, the document said. Normandy leaders are also interested in coordinating all aspects of Donbass' special status.

The main topic of the next meeting will be local elections in Donbass, according to the communique.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that the next summit of the Normandy Four on settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine may take place in Berlin.

"It seems to me, [it will take place] in Berlin," Peskov told reporters.

French President Emmanuel Macron said after the conclusion of the Normandy Four summit in Paris on Monday that the next such event would take place within the next four months.

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