Ukrainian President’s Office: Normandy Format Meeting May Take Place in January

A meeting of advisers to the leaders of the Normandy format countries may take place before the end of January 2021, the Head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak said, noting that work within the Normandy format “does not stop for a day.”

According to Yermak, the meeting of advisers, scheduled for December, was postponed at the initiative of the Russian side. The date of the meeting of the leaders has not been defined yet.

At the same time, the Head of the President’s Office stressed that “there are no changes in Ukraine’s position.”

In addition, he said that four areas for the disengagement of troops and hardware in Donbas have been agreed upon so far, but did not specify which areas are meant and did not provide any details on the start of the disengagement. Yermak also noted that mine clearance on 19 agreed sites in Donbas will begin in early 2021.

In general, speaking about the security situation in Donbas, the Head of the President’s Office stressed that “many more people die from coronavirus than from hostilities.” He also noted that 2,000 applicants from the occupied territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions enrolled in Ukrainian higher education institutions in 2020.

Bohdan Marusyak