MINSK, August 26 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin began talks on Tuesday with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, the Russian leader’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
“The bilateral meeting is now under way,” Peskov told RIA Novosti.
Earlier, Peskov, said the topics to be discussed during the meeting in Minsk might include the crisis in Ukraine, humanitarian aid to the country’s eastern regions, the flow of refugees to Russia, and the possibility of an internal dialogue between Kiev and eastern Ukraine.
Poroshenko’s press service stated that the meeting is to address a number of political and economic issues, including Ukraine’s integration into the European Union and the stabilization of the situation in the troubled east of the country.
Poroshenko’s deputy chief of staff, Valeriy Chaly, said the meeting is an opportunity to peacefully resolve the Ukrainian crisis, suggesting the summit could help the participants begin to develop a real road map to end the war.
The Russian president has repeatedly stressed that Russia is ready and will cooperate with Ukraine’s new authorities. Following Poroshenko’s election, the two leaders met for the first time on June 6 in Normandy, France, during celebrations to mark the 70th D-Day anniversary.
The two presidents back then spoke in favor of an immediate end to hostilities in Ukraine’s southeast, as well as combat actions on both sides of the conflict.
