Poroshenko to meet Merkel today, possibly meet Putin in November

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit Kyiv today
to meet with Ukrainian President Poroshenko and top officials to discuss the armed
conflict in Donbas, fulfillment of the Minsk Accords, Russian actions in the
Azov Sea and Kerch Strait, Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration and energy
security. This is her second visit to Ukraine in the last four years, the
pravda.com.ua news site reported. Eight EU countries issued an Oct. 30
statement at the UN calling on Russia to use its influence to cancel the
elections for the leadership of the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk People’s
Republics on Nov. 11.

President Poroshenko will visit Paris on Nov. 10-11 to
participate in the commemoration of the 100-year anniversary of the conclusion
of World War One, the Interfax news agency reported, citing the French Foreign
Ministry. The Kremlin press-service also has confirmed Vladimir Putin’s participation,
adding that the Russian president could meet with U.S. President Trump during
the commemorations. The Presidential Administration of Ukraine said it’s
currently organizing Poroshenko’s schedule, without yet confirming a meeting
with Putin, the pravda.com.ua news site reported.

Zenon Zawada: Both Poroshenko’s meeting with Merkel, and his possible meeting with
Putin, won’t produce any significant developments or breakthroughs. That’s
largely because elections will almost certainly be held in occupied Donbas on
Nov. 11, which has angered Western leaders because they are in violation of the
Minsk Accords. That will postpone any significant peace talks until 2020, or
after the October 2019 parliamentary vote. That also means that Putin will use
the fighting in Donbas to influence the 2019 elections in Ukraine.