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Kiev does not rule out Poroshenko meeting Putin in September

Petro Poroshenko and Vladimir Putin during Ukraine peace talks in Minsk (archive) Mykola Lazarenko/Ukrainian presidential press service/TASS
Petro Poroshenko and Vladimir Putin during Ukraine peace talks in Minsk (archive)
© Mykola Lazarenko/Ukrainian presidential press service/TASS

KIEV, August 25. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin could meet his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko in September, a senior Ukrainian administration official said on Tuesday.

"A meeting will most likely take place in the Normandy format or on the basis of the Normandy Four", Konstantin Yeliseyev, deputy head of Ukraine's presidential administration, said, referring to talks between leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France.

Asked whether there were plans for a one-on-one meeting between the presidents of Russia and Ukraine, Yeliseyev said: "If the situation requires it, everything is possible." However, he did not say when such a meeting could be held.

French President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday the leaders of the four countries could hold a fresh meeting in Paris soon. The French president noted that he maintained close contacts with both the German chancellor and the Russian president.

"We have talked about organising a new meeting in the Normandy format. It may take place in Paris," Hollande said.

The Normandy format of negotiations on Ukraine has existed since June 2014. At that time, during celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of the Allied landing in Normandy, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France for the first time discussed ways to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Since then, two more summits, five ministerial meetings and ten telephone conversations have taken place.