Date of Normandy talks to be determined after next withdrawal, Surkov says

The date of the Normandy Format summit will be
determined only after the “completion and confirmation” of the withdrawal of
armies from the frontline in the Luhansk towns of Zolote and Petrovske, said on
Oct. 2 Vladislav Surkov, widely recognized as the top adviser to Russian
President Putin on the war in Donbas. Another meeting of Normandy Four foreign
ministers might be needed as well, he said. “About two weeks will be spent for
the normal development of events,” he said, as reported by the tass.ru news
site.

The withdrawal of forces must begin with a ceasefire
in the towns of Zolote and Petrovske achieved for seven days, Ukrainian Defense
Ministry said in a statement published on its website on Oct. 2. “The
withdrawal will occur 1 km from the demarcation line and is “mirrored,” that
is, must be implemented on both sides,” the statement said. The first stage of
withdrawal involves personnel, while the second stage consists of dismantling
structures and further demining, the statement said. So far, the first stage
has been accomplished in the town of Stanytsia Luhanska.

Ukrainian President Zelensky’s main task will be to
find a way to develop relations with Donbas, Putin told reporters on Oct. 2, as
reported by the pravda.com.ua news site. “Zelensky has large challenges – the
country is in a very difficult condition. The GDP level has not only fallen,
but collapsed in relation to the loss of the Russian market. Some industrial
spheres of Ukraine have simply ceased to exist. When it was with Russia in the
Soviet Union, Ukraine was a high-tech industrial republic. It has lost its
status as an industrial developed state. This is a hard inheritance and
Zelensky truly has a lot to resolve. But most of all, of course, he needs to
resolve issues on how to develop Ukraine’s relations with Donbas,” Putin said.