Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were to hold a telephone conversation on Wednesday in regard to the Ukrainian crisis within the so-called Normandy format, but it was postponed until Thursday because of the leaders’ schedules.
“The leaders of the four countries emphasized the need to provide a stable ceasefire regime, to fulfill practical steps in pulling back heavy artillery by the opposing sides, and a prisoner swap soon,” Peskov said.
“The readiness to actively support the OSCE monitoring mission’s work on the current important level of settling [the Ukrainian crisis] was also underscored,” Peskov said.
Last week, the Normandy format talks in the capital of Belarus, Minsk, resulted in an accord on Ukrainian reconciliation. The 13-point agreement stipulated a ceasefire from February 15, a buffer zone as well as the pullback of heavy weaponry by both sides from the line of contact.
The OSCE mission, which has been deployed in war-torn eastern Ukraine since March 2014, was tasked with monitoring the implementation of the Minsk ceasefire agreement.
