OREANDA-NEWS. The heads of European Union countries will discuss the issue of extending sanctions against Russia after the meeting of the "Norman Four" (Germany, Russia, Ukraine, France) in Paris in December. This was announced on Tuesday in the European Parliament by the Minister for European Affairs of Finland, currently chairing the EU, Tyutti Tuppurainen.

“It is also possible that the leaders will discuss some foreign policy issues”, she said, introducing the agenda of the European Council to be held in mid-December. “In any case, after the Norman-format summit in Paris on December 9, the European Council will analyze the implementation of the Minsk agreements and decide whether economic sanctions against Russia should be extended for the next six months".

The Norman Four summit on the problems of resolving the Ukrainian crisis will be held on December 9 in Paris. It will be attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron. The first meeting in the Norman format took place on June 6, 2014, the last - on October 19, 2016. The break between the summits was delayed due to the fact that Kiev did not fulfill the agreements reached during previous meetings of leaders.