07 July 2021, Wednesday, 17:56 178

Zelenskyy Counts On U.S. Assistance In Resolving Conflict In Donbas In Normandy Or Other Format

Редактор: Daria Zubkova

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy counts on U.S. assistance to Ukraine in resolving with Russia the situation in Donbas either in the Normandy (Ukraine, Russia, Germany, France) or in another format.

He announced this during a joint briefing with President of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda on the sidelines of the 4th international conference on reforms in Ukraine, held in Vilnius, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

“I believe that the process for the sake of the process does not work. If we see a slowdown in the Normandy Format, then I said this frankly. Therefore, I advocated the joining of powerful geopolitical players that could influence the Russian Federation to end the war in Ukraine. Therefore, I was in favor of expanding the Normandy Format," he said.

At the same time, Zelenskyy added that “it could be another format, one more, parallel, so as not to break the agreements within the Normandy Format.

He explained that the U.S. assistance is important for Ukraine, and its format is secondary.

“It seems to me that the number of formats will not change the quality. If Russia, thanks to our joint efforts and diplomatic work, agrees and wants to end the war, it will end it, despite the number of added countries and formats. But I really would like the United States to help Ukraine to complete this tragedy in the center of Europe in the 21st century," he said.

Zelenskyy said that he expects specifics on bilateral cooperation in such areas as defense, security and economy from a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington in late July.

In turn, at a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on July 12, Zelenskyy is going to discuss the Russian project for the construction of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline bypassing Ukraine and the energy security of Europe.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, Zelenskyy hopes that his planned meetings with Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin will provide an alternative to the Normandy Format or the Minsk Agreements to resolve the situation in Donbas.