Hollande, Merkel to Provide Update on Situations in Ukraine, Syria – Tusk

Francois Hollande and Angela Merkel will inform their colleagues on the progress in settling Ukrainian and Syrian crises during a European Council meeting on Thursday, according to President of the European Council Donald Tusk.

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) – French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are expected to inform their colleagues on the progress in settling Ukrainian and Syrian crises during a European Council meeting on Thursday, President of the European Council Donald Tusk said Tuesday.

"President Hollande and Chancellor Merkel will present the state of play as regards the implementation of the Minsk Agreements and the situation in Syria," Tusk said in the invitation letter to the members of the European Council.

In April 2014, Kiev authorities launched a military operation against militia in Donbas. In February 2015, the two sides reached a ceasefire deal after talks brokered by the leaders of Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine in the Belarusian capital of Minsk. Both sides to the conflict, however, are constantly accusing each other of violations of the agreement.

The Syrian civil war has been ongoing since March 2011, with different countries, regional powers and terrorist organizations such as Islamic State and Jabhat Fatah al Sham, both outlawed in Russia, taking part in the conflict.