Merkel, Hollande say further sanctions against Russia will loom if presidential poll in Ukraine fails

Germany and France will draw the "appropriate consequences" against Russia if the May 25 elections in Ukraine does not go ahead as planned, Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande said in a joint statement issued on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters after the statement was released, Merkel said that if the May 25 elections fail then "we are ready to take further sanctions against Russia."

In their statement, the two leaders said: "If there is not an internationally recognized presidential election [in Ukraine], that would lead unavoidably to a further destabilization of the country. Germany and France are in agreement that if that is the case then corresponding consequences would be drawn as outlined by the European Council on March 6, 2014."

At the same time, the two leaders called on Russia to withdraw "military threat along the Ukrainian border" and demanded that a "national dialogue" begin between sides of the conflict in Ukraine.

Ukrainian authorities, for their part, were required to refrain from violence while trying to quell the ongoing unrest in their country in what Kyiv describes as an "anti-terrorist" operation.

The joint German and French declaration comes against the background of a planned referendum in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, to the south and east of Ukraine, through which pro-Russian separatists call for choosing their status within Ukraine. Berlin and Paris consider this referendum to be illegitimate.