OREANDA-NEWS.  At the initiative of his West European partners, Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Federal Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel and President of France Francois Hollande.

The tripartite conversation focused on the acute political crisis in Ukraine.

The three leaders expressed concern over the fact that the situation in Ukraine is still an acute conflict and is far from stabilization. They expressed interest in making sure the presidential elections in Ukraine took part in an atmosphere of peace and stability.

In addition, Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande stressed the need to intensify negotiations involving representatives of Russia, the European Union and Ukraine in order to resolve the energy issues.