French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have discussed the situation in Ukraine in a phone call with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, a communiqué of the Elysee Palace reads.
“They have stressed the importance of the swift settlement (of the conflict) through political means, based on a bilateral ceasefire, the introduction of a border monitoring mechanism with the participation of the OSCE, as well as the release of all hostages,” the document reads.
Hollande and Merkel again called on the Russian authorities to influence militants in the east of Ukraine and convince them to negotiate with Kyiv and effectively control the situation at the Russian-Ukrainian border.
The communiqué says that the leaders of France and Germany plan to discuss the situation in Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the coming days
