Kremlin says Putin, Merkel, Hollande discussed Ukraine by phone

Reuters
Russia's President Vladimir Putin writes in a visitors' book after a seminar with regional leaders at the Sberbank's Corporative University in the village of Anosino, outside Moscow, January 29, 2015. REUTERS/Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti/Kremlin

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande discussed increased violence in southeastern Ukraine in a phone call on Saturday, the Kremlin said in a statement. During the conversation a hope was expressed that the ceasefire would be the central issue in ongoing peace talks in Minsk, the Kremlin said. (Reporting by Polina Devitt; Editing by Maria Kiselyova)