You're reading: Kremlin says Putin, Merkel, Hollande and Poroshenko discuss Donbas conflict settlement over phone

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko discussed issues concerning the settlement of the conflict in Donbas during a recent phone call.

The sides discussed issues surrounding a political settlement to the situation in the southeast of Ukraine, the Kremlin press service reported.

“The sides reiterated the importance of strictly observing the ceasefire regime, raising the effectiveness of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission’s work in the conflict area by giving it additional powers, as well as bolstering the Joint Center for Control and Coordination,” the press service said.

Certain aspects of the crisis in Syria were addressed as well.