Renzi to meet Putin in Milan during ASEM summit - update 2

(ANSA) - Moscow, October 14 - 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.