The settlement of the conflict in Donbass is impossible without first ensuring security, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky told a press conference after the Normandy Four summit in Paris.
"The Ukrainian side insisted that the comprehensive resolution of all issues is impossible without the most important element — the situation with security," Zelensky said. "Only if security is ensured, political issues may be resolved," he added.
He noted that at the Paris summit, Ukraine, Germany, France and Russia "discussed a lot of issues and coordinated some very important things." "The first thing includes urgent actions on stabilizing the security situation in eastern Ukraine, as well as full, comprehensive and indefinite ceasefire which should start before the end of 2019," he added.
"For effective monitoring and strengthening ceasefire control, all participating countries have reminded about the importance of ensuring the access of OSCE monitors to the whole territory of Ukraine," Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian president admitted that many issues remained open at the Paris summit. "Of course, there are still many issues that we have not resolved today, unfortunately," he said. Zelensky stressed that Ukraine is ready to implement the agreements reached at the summit but reminded that this is "a two-way street."