The foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and France intend to resume negotiations on the situation in eastern Ukraine in the so-called Normandy format within the next few days, as was agreed upon in a recent telephone conversation between French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and his Ukrainian, Russian, and German counterparts, the French Foreign Ministry said on its website on Saturday.

"The foreign affairs ministers discussed the implementation of the Minsk agreements signed in September. They underscored the importance of swiftly convening a meeting of the contact group in order to make progress on the key outstanding issues. The ministers agreed to consult each other again in the so-called Normandy format in the next few days," the statement says.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on December 29 that the next top-level meeting in the Normandy format would be held in Astana on January 15.