Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will meet next week as part of a summit in Minsk between the Eurasian Customs Union, the EU and Ukraine, writes Kathrin Hille in Moscow . It will be the two leaders’ first encounter since brief talks during the D-Day anniversary in Normandy in early June.

Both Kiev and Moscow confirmed their presidents’ attendance at the meeting on August 26, plans for which had first been announced by Kazakhstan last week. “A number of bilateral meetings will be taking place,” the Kremlin said.

The conference marks the latest attempt to reach a diplomatic solution to the escalating Ukraine crisis. A meeting between the chiefs of staff of Mr Putin and Mr Poroshenko last Friday indicated that such efforts were under way.