KYIV. Jan 18 (Interfax) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have discussed the situation around the implementation of the agreements reached at the Normandy Four summit in Paris in December 2019.
"The two sides acknowledged that the talks held by advisors to the leaders of the Normandy Four on January 12 this year in Berlin were tough but constructive. Ukraine and Germany are expecting the next [round of] consultations on January 22," the president's press service said.
Zelensky informed Merkel of the situation in Donbas, underlining that the ceasefire, introduced on July 27, 2020, was holding overall, albeit with difficulties and provocations. He also said that one Ukrainian soldier was killed in shelling this week and one was injured last week.
"Zelensky emphasized that, aside from the ceasefire, there was virtually no progress in other aspects of the peace settlement, despite Ukraine having implemented all agreements reached by the Normandy Four leaders in Paris in December 2019," the statement said.
Last Tuesday, the Russian presidential administration's deputy chief Kozak, who was the Russian political advisor at the Berlin talks, said that no final solutions had been found and that there would be another round of discussions in two weeks' time.
The quartet, which is mediating the Donbas conflict, comprises Germany, Russia, Ukraine and France.