President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy informed that the third and last condition for holding a meeting in the Normandy format at the highest level was the disengagement of forces in Petrivske. It is scheduled for November 4 subject to a week-long ceasefire regime in this area.
“If everything is safe within a week, then on November 4, we should start the disengagement in Petrivske. So I have no doubt that we will have a meeting if all the parties want to meet in the Normandy format. Because the key result is an agreement to end the war,” the President of Ukraine emphasized during his communication with the media following the session of the NATO-Ukraine Commission in Kyiv.
The Head of State recalled that there were three conditions for holding a meeting in the Normandy format: confirmation of the text of the so-called Steinmeier formula, disengagement of troops in Zolote and disengagement in Petrivske.
"When we say Zolote, we have to understand that it is Katerynivka. There are five sites in Zolote. Four of them are controlled by the Ukrainian authorities, the Ukrainian military. We, for our part, started disengagement in Katerynivka,” he said.
For his part, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed support for Ukraine’s aspirations for peace.
“We once again welcome the leadership positions of President Zelenskyy who does the relevant job and holds negotiations to put an end to hostilities in eastern Ukraine. It is a great honor for me to meet the President. When I hear his speeches, they always inspire me. This again shows that we have a real partnership, cooperation between Ukraine and NATO,” he said.
