Ukraine tensions: what is the Normandy format and has it achieved anything?

French, German, Russian and Ukrainian diplomats are meeting in Paris in the latest effort to de-escalate the crisis

The Normandy format is an informal forum that was set up by French, German, Russian and Ukrainian diplomats in 2014, after Russia kickstarted a separatist conflict in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. It takes its name from the Normandy landings in the second world war. The first meeting took place in Normandy on the margins of the ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the allied landings.