Updated 1:38 p.m. Moscow Time
MILAN, October 17 (RIA Novosti) – The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France will hold a four-party meeting in Milan to discuss the situation in eastern Ukraine later Friday, a spokesman for the Russian president said.
"In general, it was agreed that several hours after the ASEM summit ends, a discussion on the Ukrainian issues will be continued in the Normandy format, involving [Vladimir] Putin, [Angela] Merkel, [Petro] Poroshenko and [Francois] Hollande," Dmitry Peskov said.
The so-called "Normandy format" refers to a June meeting between the presidents of Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine in France. The four leaders held a series of talks on the situation in Ukraine on the sidelines of the celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of allied troops' landing in Normandy.
Peskov was speaking hot on the heels of an important breakfast meeting between Ukrainian and Russian presidents on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe (ASEM) summit in Milan, Italy. The gathering was also attended by the German, French and British leaders, as well as two top EU officials, European Commission's Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council's Herman Van Rompuy.
On Thursday, Putin held separate talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to exchange opinions on the implementation of Minsk agreements and the origins of the east Ukraine crisis. They touched upon the issue of monitoring the ceasefire regime and thrashed out the gas dispute.
All meetings are being held on the sidelines of the two-day summit in Milan that has brought together the leaders of more than 50 countries. Issues on the agenda include sustainable development, global security and the situation in Ukraine.
