KIEV (Sputnik) — 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 Donbass 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.
"A telephone conversation with German Chancellor and French President will be held tomorrow or on Monday morning," Poroshenko said at the briefing in Kharkiv city in Ukraine’s northeast.
"As far as the Normandy format meeting is concerned, we constantly note that we are ready for this meeting. The key position is that this should not be a meeting for the sake of the meeting. We should develop an agenda and draft decisions," the president said.
Poroshenko stressed that he strongly supported Minsk agreements as the Normandy format and the Minsk process provided an opportunity "to keep Russia at the negotiations table on Donbass, as Moscow’s participation is key."
The Ukrainian government has been conducting a military operation in the country's eastern regions since April 2014.
