Paris summit: Zelensky and Putin meet for the first time
A look back at the Normandy Format talks in Paris and the ceasefire pledge that came out of them.
What did the leaders achieve when they sat down together in Paris on 9 December 2019? The meeting brought Volodymyr Zelensky, Vladimir Putin, Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel into one room for talks on ending the war in Donbass.
It was the first time Putin and Zelensky had met. It was also the first four-way leaders' meeting in this format since 2016, which gave the day weight beyond the usual diplomatic calendar.
A format with a track record
The grouping, known as the Normandy Format, brought together Germany, Russia, Ukraine and France. It first met informally in 2014, during the 70th anniversary of the D-Day celebrations in Normandy. It later played a substantial role in mediating the Minsk agreements between 2014 and 2015.
The ceasefire pledge
Following a breakthrough in the talks, Russia and Ukraine agreed to implement a ceasefire in the Donbass by the end of 2019. That commitment was the concrete outcome of the day.
The Paris meeting was one more chapter in the Normandy Format's work. The format continued to meet until 2022. Later meetings that year did not defuse rising tensions before Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
