Ukrainian President Poroshenko holds telephone talks with Putin
The Presidential Administration of Ukraine’s Press Service has confirmed that a telephone conversation took place between Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin. This was reported by the Presidential Administration, ZN reports.
The newspaper’s sources touched upon the issue of expanding the release of Ukrainian hostages.
It was also noted that the conversation took place in coordination with European Normandy Format partners and American allies.
"The President of Ukraine held a telephone conversation with the Russian president to increase the release of Ukrainian hostages, in particular the exchange of captured border guards and the release of Ukrainian soldiers in the occupied territories. The agenda for the [upcoming] meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Normandy Four, scheduled for February 16 in Munich, was also discussed. the telephone conversation took place in coordination with European partners from the Normandy Format and American allies," the report said.
RBC-Ukraine wrote that the Presidential Administration has not reported on bilateral talks between the Heads of State since 2014.
"No bilateral meetings between the President of Ukraine and the Russian president have been conducted since the conclusion of the Minsk agreements," the Press Service reported.
However, Dmitry Peskov, Press Secretary for the Russian President, earlier said that Putin and Poroshenko have allegedly continued to maintain contact and hold secret meetings.
Poroshenko earlier accused Putin of refusing to publicly support the truce in the Donbas. Poroshenko also noted that he hopes that Putin will make a public call for a ceasefire.