The day before in Paris, the meeting of political advisers of the leaders of the Normandy format countries, in which the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak took part, ended. As a result of the event, a joint communiqué was agreed upon and an agreement was reached on the next meeting in two weeks in Berlin. This is reported by the official internet representation of the President of Ukraine.

Negotiations of the advisors in Paris lasted more than eight hours.

In the communiqué, representatives of Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia stressed that they are determined to reduce current differences in order to advance the negotiation process.

The advisers said they supported unconditional observance of the July 22, 2020, cease-fire, despite disagreements over other issues of implementation of the Minsk agreements.

"The parties also discussed the importance of intensifying the work of the Trilateral Contact Group and its working groups in order to make rapid progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements," the joint communiqué said.

First deputy head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group MP Andriy Kostin, who also took part in the meeting of the advisers, said that the brevity of the joint communiqué demonstrates that the negotiations were not easy, but the parties tried to find common ground.

"The very fact of the Normandy format resumption is already a very positive signal. Today there was a very substantive difficult conversation - a kind of audit of the implementation of both the Minsk agreements, and the agreements of the leaders of the Normandy format from 2019," said Andrei Yermak in his comments to the media after the end of the negotiations in Paris.

The head of the Office of the President drew attention to the fact that the communiqué resulting from the meeting is the first document that has been agreed since the Normandy quartet leaders' summit in December 2019.

According to him, the sides have many disagreements about the vision of the implementation of the Minsk agreements, but there is a determination to move forward in the negotiation process.

"Our discussion today was around the war that is going on in Donbas, around the Minsk agreements and what is being considered in the Normandy format. But I made it absolutely clear that today we expect de-escalation not only in relation to the occupied territories, but also in general de-escalation around the Ukrainian borders," said Andrey Yermak.

He stressed that the joint statement on the need to observe the ceasefire is at least a small step forward.

The head of the Office of the President of Ukraine expressed hope that the meeting in two weeks in Berlin will also have a constructive discussion that will yield results.

"The work continues, Ukraine, as always, is ready for negotiations, for meetings 24/7, because for us, for President Zelensky, for the whole team, the goal is to stop the war, the return of our territories. And today it is also the removal of existing tension, de-escalation around the Ukrainian borders," summarized Andrey Yermak.