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Normandy Four Fail to Reach Agreement on Eastern Ukraine Elections

(L-R) Russian Foreign Minister Segei Lavrov, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier pose before a meeting to discuss the Ukraine crisis in Paris, France, March 3, 2016.

A meeting to discuss the situation in eastern Ukraine took place in Paris on Thursday between the foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany, the RIA Novosti news agency reported Friday.

As a result of the four-hour meeting, the group known as the ‘Normandy Format’ was unable to reach consensus on the issue of elections in the Donbass in eastern Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that an appeal was made to hold elections in June but a consensus on the matter was not reached “because of Ukraine.”

However, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin wrote on Twitter after the meeting that his country’s approach to the situation is one of tact.

“Don’t pay attention to different interpretations. No conclusions were agreed. Our position is safety first,” he wrote, the Prime news website reported.

Previous discussions on a peaceful resolution to the situation in the Donbass involving the Normandy Format on Feb. 13 also ended in a failure to reach an agreement.

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