"All we have in Ukraine, we try to find the solution in Normandy format, but my point is not to be the mediator [between Putin and Trump]," Merkel said, responding to a question whether she may mediate talks between the Russian and US presidents, taking into consideration Trump's latest statement that Moscow's behavior in Ukraine was "destabilizing."
Putin and Trump are scheduled to meet for the first time on Friday on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg.
The Normandy format brings together the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France. The sides elaborated a ceasefire agreement in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, in February 2015, later signed by Kiev and the Donbas militias, following the Kiev-brokered military operation in Ukraine’s southeast in 2014. The truce, however, has been repeatedly violated and the warring parties have repeatedly accused each other of violating the ceasefire regime.
In June, US Ambassador to Russia John Tefft said that Washington supported the Normandy process on the Ukrainian reconciliation and expected that Russia would contribute to ending the conflict in Ukraine. A similar position was voiced by US Vice President Mike Pence later that month.
The United States is not involved in the settlement process, though the issue has repeatedly been raised. On Wednesday, a senior State Department official told reporters that Washington was mulling appointing a special representative to coordinate the implementation of the Minsk agreement.
