Updated 12:50 a.m. Moscow time
MOSCOW, October 17 (RIA Novosti) - The working breakfast involving Russian President Vladimir Putin, his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko and a number of key EU leaders has been positive and constructive, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who hosted the meeting, said after the talks.
"Generally, I'm really positive after this meeting," Renzi told journalists on the heels of the meeting in the northern Italian city.
"Now after this meeting I'm more positive and I hope we can work together very strongly," he added.
Renzi stressed disagreements remained among the negotiators, but said it was perfectly normal since the talks were held to address such concerns.
"Obviously there are a lot of differences. This is normal. This is the reason for which we are in this situation. I would underline the real desire to find a solution and for this reason I think we can be positive after this meeting," the Italian prime minister noted.
Renzi also mentioned the importance of ceasefire in Ukraine agreed in Minsk on September 5 by the trilateral Contact Group, consisting of Russia, Ukraine and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
"Milan meeting comes after a very important protocol, the protocol of Minsk," Renzi emphasized. "We stress the importance to implement the Minsk protocol, to continue direction of cooperation," he added.
The groundbreaking Milan meeting lasted for about an hour and a half. It was also attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, British Prime Minister David Cameron, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy.
