Putin-Zelensky meeting possible only after agreement ready: Russian chief negotiator

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are likely to meet only after an agreement is ready for signing, Vladimir Medinsky, the head of Russia's negotiation team, said Tuesday.

Before the discussion of a possible meeting of the presidents, a treaty must be prepared and approved by the negotiators, and then endorsed by the foreign ministers, explained Medinsky, also an aide to the Russian president.

This will be not simple especially because the meeting could be a multilateral one with the participation of state guarantors of peace and security to Ukraine, he said after a new round of Moscow-Kiev talks in Istanbul, Turkey.