Merkel expressed regret that the Normandy format summit did not take place

“I asked the Russian president to hold such a meeting while I remain Chancellor, I would very much like to hold such a meeting.

Unfortunately, this did not happen.

So I regret it.

The publication of the correspondence does not change anything here.

In my opinion, such a meeting should have taken place, ”Merkel said.

She noted that "the fact why the meeting of the foreign ministers did not take place will obviously be explained in very different ways by France and Germany on the one hand and Russia on the other."

On the evening of November 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry published the correspondence between Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the Foreign Ministers of France and Germany, Jean-Yves Le Drian and Heiko Maas.

The Russian department noted that recently the position of Russia, its role in the internal Ukrainian settlement and approaches to holding a possible ministerial meeting in the Normandy format are being distorted.

To prevent further speculation, the Russian Foreign Ministry decided to publish diplomatic correspondence.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the publication of the correspondence proves that Moscow is not sabotaging the Normandy format talks.

The French Foreign Ministry said that the publication of the correspondence between Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the Foreign Ministers of France and Germany Jean-Yves Le Drian and Heiko Maas contradicts diplomatic rules.