Possible Normandy summit being discussed, preparation needed to avoid failure - Kremlin aide
MOSCOW. May 23 (Interfax) - The possibility of holding a summit meeting in the Normandy format is being discussed, but the meeting would need to be thoroughly prepared so as not to end in failure, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said.
"The possibility of organizing a summit is being discussed, but we, our French partners, and our German partners have been stressing the idea that if a summit is held - and perhaps it should be held - it needs to be thoroughly prepared so that it ends in some agreements that promote the implementation of the Comprehensive Package of Measures agreed upon in Minsk and so that we don't face a fiasco," Ushakov said when asked by Interfax on Wednesday about plans to hold a Normandy-format summit.
The situation in Ukraine has been "discussed during every contact" between President Vladimir Putin and European leaders, he said.
"Everyone deems it important to continue working in the Normandy format and stress that there is no alternative to implementing the Minsk Agreements," Ushakov said.
Nevertheless, a summit would require "very profound and comprehensive preparation," he said.
"Instructions have been issued to the relevant foreign ministries and aides, and active contacts are under way, but the date of a summit has not yet been agreed upon," Ushakov said.
Before this, "the foreign ministers should meet in the Normandy format," he said.
"This date has not yet been agreed upon, either, but there has been a conversation about it," Ushakov said.