With the help of France and Germany, Ukraine and Russia want to launch a new attempt to resolve the conflict in Donbass. A meeting in the so-called Normandy format, to which the four countries belong, is scheduled to take place in Paris on 9 December. The office of French President Emmanuel Macrons spoke of "significant progress" in the peace effort.
Preparations for such a summit have been in progress for months, and at the G7 summit in Biarritz, Macron had promised such a meeting in September. Recently there is a meeting in Normandy format 2016 in Berlin.
In the east of Ukraine, pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government troops have been fighting since 2014. Germany and France have been trying for five years to mediate in the Normandy format between Ukraine and Russia. Since Selenskyj took office at the end of May, there is hope for movement in the deadlocked conflict.
Last week, Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian rebels began the planned withdrawal of troops from a contested area in eastern Ukraine. The withdrawal was one of the conditions of Moscow for the summit.