Pompeo expects Zelensky to ‘re-energize’ talks in Normandy format
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United States Secretary of State Michael Pompeo has stated that he expects “better results” from the new president of Ukraine and his team as part of the talks in the Normandy format aimed at ending the aggression of the Russian Federation in eastern Ukraine.
Pompeo said this in an exclusive interview with The Daily Signal.

“We are hopeful that new leadership in Ukraine will open a new chapter in this conversation [in the Normandy format]. They can get us to a better outcome … deliver what President Trump has set out as our series of objectives there,” Pompeo said.

The so-called Normandy Format is a negotiating framework comprising representatives from Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and France. The group has met multiple times since 2014 in unsuccessful attempts to hammer out a durable peace deal for eastern Ukraine.

The U.S. is not party to the Normandy Format talks and Pompeo said he wouldn’t “speculate” on whether the U.S. would play a more direct role in peace talks should the current negotiations fail.

Pompeo said he was optimistic that Zelensky can “re-energize” the peace process.

“We’re very engaged in trying to find the right set of outcomes. We hope that this can be resolved. We do hope, too, that [the] Normandy Format will be re-energized by this change in leadership in Ukraine,” Pompeo said, adding that the onus of de-escalation was on the Russian side.