"The possibility of holding a summit at the level of heads of state to make progress on the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis on the same day is envisaged. I mean the so-called Normandy format, within the framework of which France and Germany are working intensively in order to reach implementation of the Minsk deal," Ayrault told the France Inter broadcaster, speaking about the October 19 visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Paris.
In April 2014, Kiev authorities launched a military operation to suppress pro-independence militia in the eastern Ukrainian Donbas region. In February 2015, the two sides reached a ceasefire deal after talks brokered by the leaders of Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine — the so-called Normandy Format — in the Belarusian capital of Minsk.
Key points of the Minsk agreements include a ceasefire, heavy weapons withdrawal from the line of contact in eastern Ukraine, constitutional reforms, including a decentralization of power in the country, and granting a special status to the Donbas region.
