A meeting of Vladimir Putin’s aide Vladislav Surkov and U.S. special representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker is likely to take place in Minsk and its date may be agreed in the coming days, Alexei Chesnokov, Director of the Russian Political Environment Center, states.
“The U.S. side offered a meeting in Vienna, Russia – in Kaliningrad. Minsk could be convenient for the both sides as a venue. It is a good compromise for the Russian delegation – [Minsk is] the territory of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, it is not far from Kaliningrad. As for Americans, it would be just a minor concession – they would have to fly only an hour or an hour and a half longer [than to Vienna],” Chesnokov, who is closely connected with the presidential administration, said on Facebook.
According to the Russian newspaper Kommersant, the meeting is of a great importance to Russia’s and the United States’ policy towards Ukraine.
In early July, Kurt Volker visited Kyiv and front-line Ukrainian towns. In an interview with BBC, he said he supported the idea of U.S. shipments of arms to Ukraine.
