The ceasefire in Donbas is one of the five scenarios that the Ukrainian government had on the table ahead of last December's Normandy Four summit where the leaders of Ukraine, Germany, France, and Russia discussed ways to achieve settlement in eastern Ukraine, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov said.
Achieving a sustainable ceasefire was the objective of President Volodymyr Zelensky's plan for this year, approved on the eve of the Normandy summit on December 9, Danilov told Ukraine 24 TV channel.
Danilov recalled that five scenarios were being considered on December 5 at an NSDC meeting behind closed doors.
"He [Zelensky] was going [to the Normandy Four summit], with the decision of the National Security and Defense Council already approved. It's still valid," he said, adding that back then, Zelensky said he was taking a year to address the situation.
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"The year term will complete on December 9. After December 9, we will see what to do next. We gave a chance to our adversary once again to withdraw from our country in a peaceful manner," the NSDC secretary emphasized.
When asked what the authorities will do after December 9 if this summer's scenario doesn't work out, Danilov replied that the NSDC will convene another meeting, following which an appropriate decision will be made.
As UNIAN reported earlier, since midnight on July 27, a full and comprehensive ceasefire has been in place along the contact line in the zone of the Joint Forces Operation in Donbas.
The ceasefire agreement was sealed by participants in the Trilateral Contact Group (Ukraine, Russia, and OSCE) on the Donbas settlement on July 22.
