Paris summit brought Putin and Zelensky face to face
A retrospective on the Normandy Format meeting in Paris, where Russia and Ukraine agreed to a Donbass ceasefire by the end of 2019.
What did the Paris talks of 9 December 2019 actually deliver? The meeting brought together Volodymyr Zelensky, Vladimir Putin, Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel for Ukraine peace talks, and it was the first time Putin and Zelensky had met in person.
It was also the first four-way leaders' meeting of its kind since 2016. The format, known as the Normandy Format, grouped Germany, Russia, Ukraine and France. Its members first met informally in 2014 during the D-Day anniversary celebrations in Normandy, and the group later played a substantial role in mediating the Minsk agreements between 2014 and 2015.
A ceasefire pledge
The main outcome reported from the Paris meeting followed what was described as a breakthrough in talks. Russia and Ukraine agreed to implement a ceasefire in the Donbass by the end of 2019. The commitment set a deadline of a few weeks for both sides.
What came after
The Normandy Format continued to meet in later years. Further meetings in 2022 failed to de-escalate rising tensions before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the format's 2014–2022 run ended there.
Looking back, the Paris summit stands out for the personal encounter between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents and for the ceasefire pledge that came out of it.
