Poroshenko, Merkel, Hollande hope for Russia's interest in peaceful settlement of Donbas conflict

10:19, 06.02.2015 1 min read

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko held five-hour talks with French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday evening, the Ukrainian president's press service reported.

"The parties supported a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Donetsk and Luhansk regions and expressed the hope that Russia is also interested in this," he said in a statement.

Poroshenko, Hollande and Merkel also discussed ways to implement the Minsk agreements and formulated joint proposals concerning further steps in this area.

According to the report, the three leaders called for immediate ceasefire, the withdrawal of foreign troops from Ukraine, the withdrawal of heavy weapons and military hardware, the closure of borders and the release of all hostages.

"President Poroshenko urged the European leaders to help secure the release of Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko," the press service said.

The three leaders also discussed opportunities to further promote dialogue in the Normandy format.