Merkel to meet with Putin before NATO Summit
As reported on the 19th of June by several German newspapers and sources in the German Government, Chancellor Angela Merkel intends to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss a resumption of the peace process in eastern Ukraine.
According to the media, "ideally", the new meeting will be held before the NATO summit on July 8-9th.
The media reports specified that a "preparatory" meeting in the Normandy format was held this week where such issues as the restoration of the "frozen" Minsk process, the implementation of the ceasefire and the laws for local elections in the Donbas not under Ukraine’s control were discussed.
Later, the DPA (Deutsche Presse-Agentur) reported that the meeting of the Normandy Four in Minsk was confirmed by a German Foreign Ministry spokesperson. According to her, the meeting was held between representatives of Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia.