The withdrawal of weapons in the Donbass and amnesty - as agreed by the "Norman Four"

Negotiations of the “Normandy Four”, which includes the presidents of Russia, France, Ukraine - Vladimir Putin, Francois Hollande, Petro Poroshenko - and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, ended in Paris.

In total, the leaders of the four countries talked for five hours - three times less than in previous negotiations. During this time, they, in particular, discussed the situation with elections in the Donbass and gas supplies to Ukraine from the Russian Federation.

The heads of state agreed that the electoral process in the “republics” should follow Ukrainian legislation, that in local elections candidates from the DPR and LPR should receive immunity, separatists should receive amnesty in Ukraine, and the Minsk Protocol should be implemented by the end of 2015.

An agreement was also reached on opening additional checkpoints on the Ukrainian-Russian border and on withdrawing weapons in the conflict zone from tomorrow.

Merkel, Hollande and Poroshenko told journalists about the results of the conversation. The German Chancellor noted that the positions of Putin and Poroshenko on resolving the armed conflict in Donbass “have become closer.” In turn, Hollande said that the withdrawal of light weapons in the conflict zone may begin on October 3.

“Today we were able to achieve new progress that will allow us to avoid future victims,” said the French leader following the negotiations in the Normandy format in Paris. “We discussed security issues in eastern Ukraine so that the implementation of the previously reached agreement on the withdrawal of light weapons begins tomorrow morning,” he added.

Hollande also stressed that the Minsk agreements must be implemented within the prescribed time frame. “Throughout the whole day we assessed the results of the implementation of the Minsk agreements and sought to discuss their prospects. On all points, we must meet the framework provided for by the Minsk agreements,” he explained.

In his speech, the French President touched upon the topic of tension in the Russian-Ukrainian border area, clarifying that the leaders of the Normandy Four agreed to increase the number of checkpoints on the border between the two countries.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in turn, stressed that no one side has been following the Minsk agreements one hundred percent since they were signed.

The first official reaction from Moscow after the end of negotiations at the Elysee Palace came from the press secretary of the head of state, Dmitry Peskov. “Constructive conversation. Essentially, comparing notes on the progress of implementing the most important points of the Minsk agreements. The commitment to the Minsk process was confirmed, the lack of alternative to the implementation of all the Minsk agreements without any interpretations, namely comprehensive implementation, was once again emphasized.”