Peskov: Putin has no plans to meet with Poroshenko
Russian President Vladimir Putin has no plans to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Interfax reported.
“The President [Putin] has said that in the interest of implementing the Minsk agreements, if necessary, he would be ready for such contact [with Poroshenko]. And again, for this the necessary conditions must arise, and the necessary homework must be done,” Peskov stated.
The Kremlin’s spokesman recalled that Putin had said that such a meeting would “make sense after this work is done, and once it is clear what result would come out of such a meeting.”
Peskov also noted that no such communication between the presidents has occurred since the FSB accused Ukraine of being behind a thwarted terrorist attack in the Crimea.
He also noted that dialogue between Moscow and Kiev is currently at a “minimum level”.
In July, Putin dismissed Mikhail Zurabov as Russian Ambassador to Ukraine. The seat remains vacant, as the Kremlin’s proposed candidate, Mikhail Babich, was rejected by Kiev.
When asked about the progress of a new candidate for the post, Peskov answered “I do not know about any advances… in this matter.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has stated that due to the strained relations between Kiev and Moscow, there is no need to have a Russian Ambassador in Ukraine.