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Putin’s aide, US Under-Secretary of State brainstorm compromise solutions for Ukraine

Vladislav Surkov has described their discussions with Victoria Nuland as "fruitful and useful"

Russian President’s aide Vladislav Surkov Dmitri Astakhov/TASS

Russian President’s aide Vladislav Surkov

© Dmitri Astakhov/TASS

KALININGRAD, January 15. /TASS/. Russian President’s aide Vladislav Surkov, who had a meeting here on Friday with the U.S. Under-Secretary of State, Victoria Nuland, has described their discussions as fruitful and useful.

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"The consultations we had were detailed enough, fruitful and useful," Surkov said. "This is was brainstorming of a kind to tap compromise solutions."

"Ideas were voiced on some extremely sensitive issues like the constitutional reform (in Ukraine), security and elections," he said. "They can now be discussed at the Contact Group (in charge of settling the armed civil conflict in eastern Ukraine) or in the Normandy format (Russia, Germany, France, and Ukraine)."

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Kaliningrad, Pavel Mamontov said earlier the meeting had been held in the town of Pionersky near Kaliningrad where the Presidential Administration staff has a state mansion.

Surkov and Nuland focused on the implementation of the Minsk accords.

The meeting was organized as a follow-up to the talks, which President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had in Moscow with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on December 15.

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Ukraine crisis Foreign policy

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