“On January 13, a meeting of foreign ministers in a ‘Normandy format’ took place. We have agreed to continue these discussions with the purpose of implementing a full package of the Minsk agreements. Two hours ago we have discussed with the German foreign minister the ways to continue this difficult discussion, and we have reached a preliminary agreement to continue the conversation tomorrow in Berlin. We have the same demands – the implementation of the Minsk agreements,” Klimkin told journalists.
According to Reuters, the German Foreign Ministry subsequently confirmed the meeting.
The Ukrainian foreign minister also said that during the Wednesday meeting in Berlin, he would propose holding a new round of Contact Group talks on Ukrainian reconciliation.
The Normandy format, like the Minsk, Geneva and Weimar formats, are negotiation configurations used by international mediators to discuss the resolution of the Ukrainian conflict. It dates back to June 2014, when the leaders of Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine met to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the allied landing in Normandy, France. After the initial meeting, the countries took part in several rounds of high-level and ministerial-level talks regarding the situation in eastern Ukraine.
