MOSCOW, October 17 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in Friday’s discussion of the current situation in Ukraine on the sidelines of the ASEM summit in Milan, which will be held in expanded format, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“Tomorrow we expect the continuation of the dialogue on this topic in the expanded formats,” Dmitry Peskov said, answering the question on whether the talks are to be conducted in the so-called Normandy format, comprising leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France.
“The [working] day will begin quite early in the morning with a working lunch with the participation of [Russian] President Vladimir Putin, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, UK Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and the leaders of European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso and Herman Van Rompuy,” Peskov said.
Vladimir Putin arrived in Milan on Thursday to take part in the 10th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). At the ASEM Summit the leaders of more than 50 countries will discuss sustainable development, global security and the peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, including the gas issue.
Late on Thursday, Russian President had a bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on which the two leaders discussed the process of implementation of the Minsk agreements on the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, stressing the need for completing disengagement of the conflicting sides.
According to the Kremlin spokesman, upon the conclusion of the official events, Vladimir Putin met with Italy's former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
