Bilateral relations between Ukraine and the Russian Federation are practically at a zero level at the moment.
The format, the venue, and the agenda of a possible future summit of Ukrainian and Russian presidents, Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin, are being coordinated by the respective administrations in consultation mode.
That's according to Mykhailo Podoliak, an advisor to the President's Office chief, who spoke with UNIAN.
"Look at the situation as a whole. If we first see amassing and then partial withdrawal of Russian troops from the Ukrainian border, with whom is it logical to discuss this? It's with the Russian side. If we see threatening moves in the Black or Azov seas, with whom is it logical to talk about? It's clear it's the Russian side," Podoliak said.
The official noted that the "Normandy Four" and "Minsk" negotiation formats continue to exist, where the Russian side is also represented and where talks are constantly held in a wider circle.
"In any case though, the dialogue between presidents – this dialogue will certainly be difficult – this is an obligatory level if we want to speed up the adoption of key decisions. So the reason why this is proposed and can be discussed – follows from the very logic of the situation," he said.
At the same time, in his opinion, the rhetoric heard from the Russian side regarding this meeting and issues that may be brought up is "a matter of form, not content."
As noted by Podoliak, Zelensky proposed a meaningful thing, namely a summit to activate processes that are stalled and to resolve issues that can only be resolved with the Russian side.
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"The second obligatory thing is real coordination of format and agenda, which is being coordinated in consultations between the Office of the President of Ukraine and the Administration of the President of Russia. Logistics, timing, priority topics, and the ultimate venue. This, by the way, is extremely difficult at this stage, because we have practically no bilateral relations... " the official summed up.
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