Poroshenko, Merkel, Hollande call on Putin to immediately release Savchenko

The parties had a telephone conversation in the "Normandy format" late Monday.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande have again appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to immediately release Ukrainian pilot, MP and member of the Ukrainian delegation to PACE Nadia Savchenko.

According to the press service of the Ukrainian president, the parties had a telephone conversation in the "Normandy format" late Monday.

President Poroshenko also stressed the need for the release of all prisoners illegally detained in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and in the Russian Federation, UNIAN reports.

The parties supported a Ukrainian proposal to place OSCE observers at all points where there have been ceasefire violations, in particular to start with the following 10 villages: Shastya, Popasna, Stanytsia Luhanska, Krymske, Avdiivka, Volnovakha, Hranitne, Luhanske, Shyrokyne, and the area around Donetsk airport.

The parties stressed the need to ensure safety and a proper operation mode for the OSCE observers, including unimpeded inspections in places where weapons that have been withdrawn from the front line have been redeployed.

The leaders also agreed on the need to publish a daily report of the OSCE mission on violations of the ceasefire, which would be sent to all foreign ministers of the "Normandy format" countries.

Among other issues, the parties discussed the problem of delivering Ukrainian and international humanitarian assistance to the Donbas and the participation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in its distribution, as well as energy issues.

In addition, Poroshenko, Merkel, Hollande and Putin agreed on the holding of consultations on Friday at the level of deputy foreign ministers, where they would also discuss the question of deploying peacekeepers in the Donbas.