MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. There are no specific plans so far for a new Normandy format meeting and a potential date for contacts between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"No, there is no date yet," he said when asked about preparations for new Normandy talks. Speaking about the dates for a potential meeting between Putin and Zelensky, Peskov noted: "So far, there are no specific plans for a potential meeting with Mr. Zelensky."
The Kremlin spokesman noted that there were "more questions than answers" regarding potential negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents. "Work is in progress. We will inform you when there are specific agreements," he stated. Peskov added that a meeting between the presidential aides could take place in the near future.
Referring to preparations for the next Normandy format meeting, Peskov noted that there were certain dates for experts’ meetings and meetings between presidential aides. "Actually, preparations at the expert level will be underway there," he said.
The spokesman stressed that serious expert work should be carried out as part of the preparations for the meeting between the Normandy Four (Russia, Germany, France, Ukraine) leaders. He pointed out that during Monday’s negotiations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron the Ukrainian issue was discussed, in particular.
"The prospects of organizing the high-level meeting in the Normandy format were expertly and thoroughly discussed. The meeting will be preceded by serious expert work for the meeting not be held just for itself, as was said yesterday," Peskov said.
He added that the Russian and French leaders exchanged views in detail on the situation in Syria, in particular on the development of the Constitutional Committee, the refugees’ return and other Syrian settlement issues.
"Many other regional conflicts were discussed, be it the Balkans or Karabakh, the climate was long and seriously hashed over, as well as the Arctic exploration," the spokesman enumerated. Peskov reiterated that French companies take an active part in the exploration of the Arctic region.