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Kremlin says Normandy summit may take place on October 19 if consultations are successful

The Normandy quartet’s leaders may meet on October 19, if preliminary consultations by experts are successful

MOSCOW, October 13. /TASS/. The Normandy quartet’s leaders - Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko may meet on October 19, if preliminary consultations by experts turn out successful, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media on Thursday.

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"First, there are to be meetings by experts, who are to have a fundamental discussion," he said. "If the outcome is positive, the chance (of holding a summit on October 19) will emerge," Peskov believes.

He added that for such a summit to take place the participating parties were to do their "homework."

Peskov confirmed that alongside efforts at the expert level "various options regarding the likely dates and venues of a summit are being discussed."

Earlier, some media said the Normandy quartet’s leaders may gather in Berlin on October 19.

On Wednesday, Putin held a telephone discussion with Hollande and Merkel to consider the outlook for further international interaction over the settlement of the intra-Ukrainian conflict through strict compliance with the Minsk Accords. Putin said the accords had no alternatives as the basis for settling the crisis. The leaders agreed to step up consultations in different formats.

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Ukraine crisis Foreign policy

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