Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko is set to attend a summit with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to address the crisis in eastern Ukraine, according to voanews.com.

Poroshenko’s office described the August 26 summit in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, as an effort aimed at “stabilizing the situation in Ukraine.” Top Poroshenko aide, Valery Chaly, said the talks will include Ukraine’s expanding economic ties with the European Union and energy security.

A Kremlin statement said a number of meetings will take place at the summit, which includes EU representatives and the leaders of Belarus and Kazakhstan. The meeting will be the first direct encounter between Poroshenko and Putin since their joint participation at a World War II anniversary observance in Normandy, France, in June.

The EU delegation will reportedly be led by the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton. Ahead of the talks in Minsk, German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Poroshenko in Kyiv.

A top Poroshenko administration official said that the Minsk meeting presented a unique opportunity with regards to the conflict in eastern Ukraine. “I’ll cautiously say it’s a chance to start a real negotiation process,” said Valery Chaly.