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Hollande to take part in Berlin talks over Minsk peace accord

Xinhua, October 18, 2016 Adjust font size:

French President Francois Hollande will fly to Germany on Oct. 19 to participate in talks to push forward the Minsk peace accord to end conflicts in eastern Ukraine, his office said Tuesday.

At the invitation of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Hollande will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Berlin "to evaluate the implementation of Minsk accord and discuss the following steps of the process to settle the crisis in eastern Ukraine," the French presidency said in a statement.

The negotiations will follow the "Normandy" format, which got its name after French and German leaders succeeded to convince Putin and Poroshenko to join negotiations during the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the landing of the Allied forces that made a decisive contribution to the liberation of Europe from fascism.

In February 2015, Kiev and Moscow agreed a peace deal including a comprehensive ceasefire, withdrawal of heavy weapons from the frontline of fighting, release of captives, amnesty to detained insurgents and restoration of the Ukrainian government control over the state border.

However, continued clashes in the zone have dashed hopes to fully implement the accord brokered by French and German leaders. More than 9,000 people have been killed in conflicts there since 2014. Endit