Putin and Poroshenko to meet in Milan on October 17

On October 17, Russian and Ukrainian Presidents Vladimir Putin and Petro Poroshenko are to meet in Milan, Italy. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi will act as the coordinator of the meeting, RT reports.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, British Prime Minister David Cameron, chairman of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, and Foreign Minister of Italy Federica Mogerini will also take part in the meeting,  RIA Novosti reports.

Earlier, German media outlets reported that Merkel refused to meet with Putin due to the situation in Ukraine. German officials believe that it is inappropriate to conduct  intergovernmental consultations against the backdrop of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, Der Spiegel wrote.

Putin and Poroshenko have met twice before. Their first meeting took place in Normandy on 6 June, during the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of D-Day landings. The second meeting took place on August 26 in Minsk at the EU-Ukraine-Eurasian Three summit.