Ukraine would like to see the United States more engaged in the Normandy format of talks on Donbas settlement, says Ukraine's new ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova.
In an interview with Lb.ua, the diplomat also noted that the issue is now being actively discussed by Ukrainian authorities.
"We would like to see more engagement in this format on the part of the United States. It's up to Washington to decide what it'll be like. Now the issue is being actively discussed by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and the team of the relevant deputy prime minister," the ambassador said.
Read alsoMarkarova to work on Ukraine getting NATO Membership Action PlanAt the same time, she emphasized that at the moment it is not about direct participation of the United States in any specific format, rather than about active work on the part of the United States at various sites where the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is being resolved.
"As a future ambassador, I will definitely support the additional involvement of the United States in resolving the military conflict. I believe that such a step will meet the priorities of the United States of becoming more engaged in global processes toward establishing democracy. U.S. participation in the negotiation processes is also in the interests of Ukraine, which seeks to make different kinds of formats more effective. So far, we're talking not about any specific format, but about greater U.S. engagement at all possible sites," Markarova said.
She also indicated that her key task as ambassador will be to ensure that no one discusses issues related to Ukraine's future and territorial integrity without the country's own participation.
Read alsoU.S. welcomes Ukraine's initiative on Crimean Platform – U.S. envoy to UN"My task as an ambassador is to ensure that the United States maintains an active dialogue with us and protects us. The most important thing is that conversations about Ukraine should take place with Ukraine's participation and if they are held without us, words of dedication to protecting Ukraine's territorial integrity should be heard there. That's what the incumbent U.S. president said during a conversation with the leader of the Russian Federation," said Markarova.
Normandy format: Background
The Normandy Four is a format of talks in a quadripartite format, involving Ukraine, Germany, France, and Russia, where issues of Russian armed aggression against Ukraine are discussed.
The name of the format comes from a summit of the four leaders, which first took place in Benouville, Normandy region, northwestern France, on June 6, 2014.
The latest summit of the Normandy Four leaders was held in Paris in December 2019.
On March 9, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is ready to hold separate meetings with each of the leaders of the Normandy Four (Germany, France, Russia) if the summit keeps being postponed.
