Brussels, 03/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 3 March, the presidents of Russia - Vladimir Putin, Ukraine - Petro Poroshenko, and France - François Hollande along with Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed to ask the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) “to play a more direct role in the Ukrainian crisis so as to improve application of the ceasefire and the withdrawal of heavy weapons and to give a daily report on their implementation”, said Hollande after a conference call between the Normandy-format leaders.
The Ukrainian presidency stated that “the parties have endorsed the Ukrainian proposal to send the OSCE observers to all locations of the ceasefire regime violation, particularly to begin with 10 inhabited localities” including the area of Donetsk airport. According to the presidency's, the leaders underlined the “need for ensuring security and proper working regime for the OSCE inspectors, inter alia, in the context of free verification at the deployment sites of the withdrawn weaponry”.
According to the Elysée Palace, the leaders also assessed the state of implementation of the Minsk agreement of 12 February, stating that “progress” had been noted but that “the situation should be improved”. The leaders also underlined that the release of prisoners should be facilitated - as should humanitarian aid in relation with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). According to the Ukrainian presidency, Merkel, Hollande and Poroshenko called on Putin once again for the immediate release of Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savtchenko. “The contact group must create the working groups planned for as soon as the ceasefire conditions allow”, the leaders also stated, according to the French presidency.
In addition, Putin, Poroshenko, Hollande and Merkel discussed a series of issues relating to the deliveries of Russian gas to Ukraine, the Kremlin stated.
The leaders agreed to maintain their contact in the Normandy format at different levels, including the holding of a meeting between their foreign affairs ministers on Friday 6 March.
Elsewhere, the US White House announced that Merkel, Hollande, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, European Council President Donald Tusk and US President Barack Obama were due to take part in a video-conference, behind closed doors at the end of the afternoon on 3 March, regarding Ukraine and security issues. (Camille-Cerise Gessant)