Normandy Phone Talks on Ukraine Crisis Rescheduled for Thursday - Kremlin

A conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, French President Francois Hollande, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will take place later on Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – A telephone conversation between the leaders of Germany, France, Russia, and Ukraine has been rescheduled for later on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, French President Francois Hollande, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were scheduled to hold a telephone conversation on Wednesday in regard to the Ukrainian crisis within the so-called Normandy format.

“Yes, they will be held today,” Peskov said.

Peskov said Wednesday’s conversation was canceled due to the leaders’ schedules.

Last week, the four leaders met in the Belarusian capital of Minsk to hammer out a deal on ending the violence in Ukraine's eastern regions. The 16-hour talks resulted in a peace deal being signed on February 12.

A day after the negotiations wrapped up, Hollande suggested that the Normandy Four leaders should hold a phone conference in a week to assess the implementation of the Minsk deal.

Under the Minsk agreement, a ceasefire came into force in Ukraine on February 15. It was due to be followed by the withdrawal of heavy weapons on Monday but the warring parties failed to keep their promises, citing differences over the heavily contested town of Debaltseve, a key transport hub between the two breakaway regions.

The pullout began in southern parts of the breakaway Donetsk region on Wednesday, where a RIA Novosti correspondent observed the start of the operation to withdraw artillery. It is expected to be removed to a distance of 50-140 kilometers (30-85 miles) from both sides of the contact line.