MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia is ready for future Normandy format talks on Ukraine when conditions for them are fit, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told Sputnik while commenting on reports that Germany and France regret Russia's decision not to attend the Normandy Four meeting at the level of political directors in Paris.
"When we received the invitation [to the meeting of political directors] a couple of weeks ago, in contacts with our French colleagues we explained in detail our arguments in favor of the fact that the meeting should not be held as scheduled on March 24. This is due to the fact that other formats work, and the meeting would be fruitless," Karasin said.
"This was done at the ministerial level and as far as can be judged, our argumentation was accepted. Since then, there have been no more contacts with the French on the issue. We proceeded from the fact that we substantiated our approach. We will, of course, be ready for future meetings when conditions are fit," he said.
Nadal said on March 1 that the Normandy Four format of talks on Ukraine crisis settlement, bringing together Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine, provided a productive dialogue aimed at fulfilling Minsk agreements, reached in February 2015, when the Normandy Four states brokered the ceasefire deal between Kiev authorities and independence supporters in the Belarusian capital.
The Minsk deal stipulates a full ceasefire, weapons withdrawal from the line of contact in Donbass, as well as constitutional reforms that would give a special status to the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. Despite the agreement brokered by the Normandy Four states, the ceasefire regime is regularly violated, with both sides accusing each other of multiple breaches, undermining the terms of the accord.
