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Kremlin: Putin, ZelenskiySet for Paris One-on-OneMeeting

Agence France-Presse

   MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader
   VolodymyrZelenskiyare likely to have a one-on-one meeting during
   four-way summit talks in Paris next month, the Kremlin said Wednesday.
   Putin andZelenskiyplan to join French President Emmanuel Macron and
   German Chancellor Angela Merkel on December 9 for a summit aimed at
   resolving the five-year conflict in eastern Ukraine, where
   Moscow-backed separatists have carved out breakaway statelets.
   Putin's top foreign adviser,YuryUshakov, said Wednesday that a separate
   meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders was in the cards,
   too.
   "It appears that a separate meeting will be held," Ushakov said
   according to Russian news agencies, which addedthat the program of the
   summit was still being finalized.

   Uncertain
   A Ukrainian diplomatic source, when asked about the possibility of the
   one-on-one session, told AFP: "We still don't know."
   Speaking to reporters in Vilnius, Lithuania,Zelenskiysaid he was ready
   for meetings with every state leader present at the Paris summit, if
   necessary.
   The United States voiced solidarity with Ukraine and called on Russia
   to implement a 2015 plan that called both for a cease-fire and
   political resolution of the conflict.
   "Our support for Ukraine's sovereignty is unwavering, and we are
   committed to working with our allies and partners to keep pressure on
   Russia to live up to its commitments," U.S. Secretary of State Mike
   Pompeo said in a statement.
   State Department spokeswoman MorganOrtaguspraised the "prudent but
   difficult steps towards peace and reform" taken byZelenskiy.

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