Ukraine: meetings of US representative for Ukraine Volker and Putin’s aide Surkov are an addition to Normandy talks
The meeting of the Special Representative of the US State Department Kurt Volker, and a personal advisor to the Russian President, Vladislav Surkov, is an additional platform for negotiations, which complements the Minsk and Normandy formats, the Political Director of the Directorate General for Policy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Oleksii Makeiev said, as reported by Radio Liberty. According to him, the Ukrainians were informed in advance about the details of this planned meeting in Belgrade.
"We could say that this is an additional format, because the United States is an important player, but I want to note that Volker is in close contact with Ukraine, as well as with Berlin and Paris, and we play here as a one team," Makeiev said.
This will be the second meeting between Volker and Surkov, who represents Russian President Vladimir Putin’s interests regarding the conflict in the Donbas.
The meeting between the politicians will take place in Belgrade, as it is a neutral territory, and Surkov cannot travel to any EU countries, because he is on the sanctions list.
Previously, it was reported that the first talks between Volker and Surkov took place on August 21st in Minsk. Their meeting took place behind closed doors.
The next meeting will be held on October 7th in Belgrade. It is expected that the parties will discuss how to stimulate the fulfillment of the Minsk Agreements and restore the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Earlier, Volker opposed the Russian proposal to send UN peacekeepers to the Donbas. In his opinion, this will divide Ukraine even more.