Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed by phone on Tuesday the implementation of the agreements reached at the Normandy Four summit in Paris on December 9, 2019.
Zelensky briefed Merkel on the security situation in Donbas, according to the president's press service.
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In turn, Merkel expressed concern over the fact that Russia-controlled illegal armed formations had not been observing the ceasefire in Ukraine's east.
The officials also discussed the issue of choosing three new sites for the disengagement of forces and weapons along the contact line in Donbas. They expressed the hope that progress on the issue would be achieved at a Trilateral Contact Group meeting in Minsk on February 12.
The Ukrainian president reiterated the need to ensure that international humanitarian organizations, namely the International Committee of the Red Cross, have unhindered access to persons illegally held in the uncontrolled territory of Ukraine.
In addition, Zelensky and Merkel touched upon the need to continue the EU's personal sanctions against former high-ranking officials of Ukraine suspected of embezzlement of public funds and committing crimes during Maidan events late in 2013 and early in 2014.
