The Kazakh and U.S. presidents, Nursultan Nazarbayev and Barack Obama, discussed ways to further promote relations between their countries and the conflict in Ukraine over the phone.

"The leaders of the two countries discussed the situation in the south-east of Ukraine. Nazarbayev informed his U.S. counterpart that he was personally working on this issue, which, the Kazakh side believes, can be resolved through negotiations at the level of the heads of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France," the Kazakh leader's press service said.

Nazarbayev asked Obama to begin playing a "more proactive role in the search for a compromise on the Ukrainian issue," it said.

The Kazakh president also noted that economic sanctions imposed on Russia were effecting the entire Central Asian region.

Obama, for his part, assured Nazarbayev that he was committed to a diplomatic settlement in Ukraine, reiterating the need to implement the Minsk agreements.

"Obama also highly assessed Kazakhstan's efforts aimed at bolstering international security and expressed hope that the head of state would continue to actively assist with the search for a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine," the press service said.

The telephone conversation was held at Washington's initiative.