15/11/2019 (Agence Europe) – On Friday 15 November, the French Presidency announced that a summit in the "Normandy format" would be held on 9 December in Paris - that is, with the French, Ukrainian and Russian presidents and the German Chancellor. According to the Elysée, this summit, the first since October 2016, "will open a new phase in the implementation of the Minsk agreements", which aim to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The Presidency specified that the meeting would be held "at a time when major progress has been made in the negotiations since the summer, which in particular have made it possible to disengage troops in several areas of high tension". At the end of August, the French President announced that such a meeting would be held "in the coming weeks" (see EUROPE 12314/9). This will be the first Normandy format summit for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. (CG)