Too early to arrange Russian, Ukrainian leaders' meeting: Kremlin

Alsharq Tribune-AFP 

Kiev is putting the cart before the horse by suggesting holding a meeting between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine before new agreements have been reached, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

"They are trying to put the cart just slightly ahead of the horse. The full scope of work needs to be completed first, and only then can the leaders be given the opportunity to formalize any results achieved," Peskov said.

The complexities of the Ukrainian settlement process make it impossible to achieve "immediate breakthroughs," he said.

The third round of direct Russian-Ukrainian talks took place on Wednesday in Istanbul. Before the plenary meeting, the heads of the delegations, Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky and Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, held a one-on-one conversation.

Medinsky said that a decision on the fourth round of talks will be made after the new agreements are implemented.

Umerov proposed that the two countries' presidents meet along with U.S. President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to negotiate an end to the conflict by the end of August.