Updated 1:50 p.m. Moscow Time
MOSCOW, October 17 (RIA Novosti) - Russia does not object to a bilateral meeting of the Russian and Ukrainian presidents, Vladimir Putin and Petro Poroshenko, and hopes the Ukrainian side has the same approach, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.
"We are definitely open, and we hope they are open as well," the official said, answering on whether the two leaders may hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Milan.
Earlier this week, the Kremlin press service reported that the two leaders had discussed the steps on reconciliation of the crisis in southeastern Ukraine in a phone conversation and confirmed "mutual readiness to continue exchanging views … on the sidelines of the October 16-17 ASEM forum in Milan."
On October 15, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said Putin and Poroshenko could possibly hold a bilateral meeting in Milan Friday.
The last meeting between the two leaders took place in Minsk on August 26 during trilateral talks that also involved heads of Russia's Customs Union partner nations Belarus and Kazakhstan, along with EU officials.
