MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Normandy Four summit was expected to take place in October but until recently, officials were unable to confirm the date. On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the time was running out for the meeting initially scheduled for October 19, adding that the chances for the gathering to take place were low.
The Normandy Four, which comprises Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany, was created in 2014 to secure a peaceful settlement to the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The group has held several rounds of talks on Ukrainian reconciliation, most notably in February when the quartet's leaders brokered a ceasefire agreement in Minsk, Belarus, signed by Kiev and the Donbas militia in February 2015.
The sides failed to fulfill the agreements' conditions by the end of 2015, as initially intended, and the deadline was extended into 2016, with the sides continuing to blame each other for the failure to abide by the Minsk deal.
The last meeting of the Normandy Four took place roughly a year ago, on October 2, 2015.
