Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of the United States Barack Obama on the American side’s initiative, the Kremlin press service reports.
The two leaders’ focus was on the situation in Ukraine and the challenges of ensuring a peaceful settlement of the crisis there. Vladimir Putin provided an extensive assessment of the situation in southeast Ukraine, stressing the most recent Russian proposals, which were discussed in the context of preparing for the planned February 11 Normandy format meeting at the highest level in Minsk.
The Presidents of Russia and the United States highlighted the importance of resolving the domestic Ukrainian crisis via political dialogue, with an immediate cessation of bloodshed, ensuring the lawful rights and interests of residents of all regions of Ukraine without exception, including the southeast.
Intensive multilateral efforts to resolve the crisis in Ukraine are expected to culminate a four-way summit in the Belarus capital Minsk on Wednesday, bringing together Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, TASS reports.
Diplomatic efforts to find a political solution to the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine have intensified over the past week. The leaders of Germany and France travelled to Kiev on Thursday and then to Moscow the following day with a proposal to resolve the conflict that could be acceptable to all parties.
Russkiy Mir Foundation Information Service
