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Normandy Four summit in June not on Putin’s agenda at the moment — spokesman

Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko said earlier that the next Normandy Four summit may take place in June

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov Sergei Karpukhin/TASS

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov

© Sergei Karpukhin/TASS

MOSCOW, April 16./TASS/. A meeting in the Normandy Four format in June 2019 is not on the schedule of Russian President Vladimir Putin at the moment, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday when asked to comment on a statement by Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko.

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Poroshenko not ready to discuss compliance with Minsk agrements — Lavrov

"There are no [such] plans at the moment," Peskov said.

Earlier, Poroshenko told 112 Ukraine TV channel that a summit of the Russian, German, French and Ukrainian leaders on the settlement in Ukraine could possibly take place in June, during celebrations to mark the 75th anniversary of the Normandy landings.

It is still premature to convene a next meeting of the Normandy Four group, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told reporters on Saturday.

"It is still early to talk about a new Normandy meeting. First, we should wait for the end of the current stage of intra-political processes in Ukraine, that is the election of president," the diplomat said.

"It is principally crucial for Russia that the summit, in case it is convened, will really demonstrate some progress in the implementation of the Minsk ‘package’ [the Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements - TASS]," Grushko stressed.

"Nobody is interested in the next Normandy Four meeting, at any level, to end up with nothing," he added.

The first meeting in the Normandy Four format took place in France in June 2014 amid commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the landing of allied troops in Normandy. Then the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany for the first time held talks to find a solution to the conflict in southeast Ukraine. Since then, the Normandy Four group has held a series of phone conversations and summit meetings, along with meetings of foreign ministers and other officials.

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Ukraine crisis Ukraine Vladimir Putin Pyotr Poroshenko Dmitry Peskov

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