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Germany's Maas Cancels Trip To Donbas Front Line Ahead Of Peace Summit


German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (file photo)
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (file photo)

Germany Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has canceled a trip to the front line of the Donbas conflict in eastern Ukraine due to adverse weather conditions, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported.

He was scheduled to visit the line of contact on November 19 ahead of next month's planned four-way talks to end the bloody conflict at a summit involving Germany, France, Ukraine, and Russia.

Plans foresaw flying to the city of Kharkiv, east of Kyiv, on November 18 and then to the Donbas by helicopter the following day.

Instead, Maas will meet with Foreign Minister Vadym Prystayko and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv to discuss the December 9 four-way talks known as the Normandy Four.

The last time the leaders of the four countries met was in October 2016.

French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to host the talks in Paris to seek peace in the war that has killed more than 13,000 people and displaced 1.5 million more in what is the largest internal migration of people on the European continent since World War II.

With reporting by Deutsche Welle
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