Russia finds reason for evading talks in Normandy format

It would be blasphemous to gather for a meeting in the "Normandy format" now, especially when neither Paris nor Berlin condemned the assassination of Alexander Zakharchenko, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on the air of Russian Channel 1, the Echo of Moscow reports.

As a reminder, the leader of the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic” Zakharchenko was killed in explosion in the occupied Donetsk on August 31.

Austrian Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz called on Russia to return to the negotiating table in the Normandy format for sake of a peaceful settlement of the situation in Donbas.

On Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France released a statement, saying that the recent developments in eastern Ukraine do not abolish the commitments of the parties to the Minsk agreements implementation as well as meetings in the Normandy format.

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