Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Says Knows Nothing About Normandy Format Meeting On Donbas

Faizan Hashmi Published April 26, 2019 | 06:16 PM

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said on Friday that he knew nothing about the preparation of a high level or foreign minsters meeting on Donbas within the Normandy format

KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th April, 2019) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said on Friday that he knew nothing about the preparation of a high level or foreign minsters meeting on Donbas within the Normandy format.

"I know nothing about any meeting of a high level within the Normandy format in the upcoming weeks, a ministerial meeting is also not planned," Klimkin said while aired by Pryamiy kanal tv.

He also stressed that it remained unclear who was going to represent Kiev at the meeting. It depended on the date, Klimkin explained. It may be the incumbent head of state, Petro Poroshenko, or newly elected president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, if the meeting is held after he takes office, Klimkin said.

In March, Poroshenko announced that he was going to call a new meeting within the Normandy format in May or June. On April 17, both Russia and Germany said that they knew nothing about the meeting.

The runoff between Zelenskiy and incumbent Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was held on Sunday. According to the country's Central Election Commission, Zelenskiy is leading with 73.21 percent of the vote after 99 percent of ballots were counted. Poroshenko, who secured 24.46 percent, has already admitted his defeat.

Kiev launched a military operation against the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics in 2014 after they proclaimed independence from Ukraine, refusing to recognize the new central government that. A ceasefire deal between warring parties was signed in Minsk in 2015 following talks brokered by the leaders of the so-called Normandy group - Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine. Despite this agreement, however, sporadic fighting continues in Donbas. To date, the situation remains tense, with both sides accusing each other of violating the truce.