Russian President Vladimir
Putin will have a bilateral meeting with Italian Premier Matteo
Renzi when he is in Milan for the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) on
October 16-17, the Kremlin said Tuesday after the two leaders
spoke on the telephone.
The bilateral meeting will focus on international issues,
including the crisis in Ukraine and the fight against ISIS
Islamist militants in the Middle East, the Kremlin said.
Putin is also set to meet Ukraine President Petro
Poroshenko in Milan, spurring hopes that talks could help ease
the crisis in Ukraine and soothe international tensions.
Moscow's annexation of Crimea earlier this year and its
support for pro-Russia separatists in the east of Ukraine
prompted the United States and the European Union to adopt
sanctions and drove relations between the West and Russia to
their lowest levels since the Cold War.
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