REUTERS

A phone call took place between Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, February 13.

The conversation was rather long and was held on the initiative of the Ukrainian side, ZN.UA reported with reference to its own sources.

The third anniversary of the signing of so-called Minsk II was the reason for that talk.

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Read alsoSajdik: Minsk process is working – Belarusian mediaThe Ukrainian presidential administration's press service confirmed the fact of the conversation in a comment to ZN.UA and said: "The president of Ukraine had a telephone conversation with the president of Russia to facilitate the release of Ukrainian hostages, in particular, the exchange of captured border guards and the release of Ukrainian soldiers in the occupied territories. The parties also discussed the agenda of the meeting of the Normandy Four foreign ministers, scheduled for February 16 in Munich."

"The telephone conversation took place in coordination with the European partners in the Normandy Four and the American allies," the presidential administration added.

UNIAN memo. On February 12, 2015, negotiations were held in Minsk to resolve the Donbas crisis. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in negotiations.

After the talks, a package of measures for the implementation of the September 2014 Minsk Protocol was signed. In addition, a declaration was adopted by the four leaders in support of the said measures.

Among other things, the agreements reached by the Normandy Four provide for a ceasefire in the east of Ukraine and removal of all heavy weapons from the Ukrainian territory. The exchange and release of all hostages is also envisaged as well as the holding of local elections in Donbas.