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The recent escalation of the situation in the so-called Donbass region jeopardizes last year’s ceasefire, which fueled hopes of resolving the conflict that erupted in 2014 following Maidan’s pro-Western revolution in Kiev and the annexation of the Crimean peninsula by Moscow.
“It just came to our attention then. It should happen,” Zelensky said.
The Normandy Quartet is made up of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France. This forum was created to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine; its most recent summit took place in 2019, immediately after the election of V. Zelensky.
Zelensky emphasized that if the Fourth Normandy meeting failed, he would be willing to meet with the leaders of France, Germany and Russia separately.
Volodymyras Zelenskis
© Zuma Press / Scanpix
A bilateral meeting between Zelensky and Putin would be the first since 2019, when the Ukrainian leader was elected on the promise of ending the war in eastern Ukraine.
Critics say the latest outbreak of violence in eastern Ukraine may be the Kremlin’s response to sanctions imposed by Ukraine last month on influential pro-Russian lawmaker Viktor Medvedchuk, a Putin ally.
“It just came to our attention then. We understand that there has been an increase in armed provocations on the front line,” Zelensky told reporters on Tuesday.
Since mid-February, as fighting intensified in eastern Ukraine, eight members of the Ukrainian forces have been killed.
Ukraine and its allies in the West accuse Russia of sending troops and weapons to the separatists, although Moscow officially denies this.
Last week, the Kremlin blamed Ukrainian forces for the escalation of violence, saying it was “deeply concerned about rising tensions” in Donbass.
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