Poroshenko, Hollande, Merkel coordinate positions on deploying OSCE police to east Ukraine

The Ukrainian presidential press service reported on Friday that Poroshenko has informed Merkel and Hollande about the permanent deterioration of the security situation in eastern Ukraine and called for more pressure on Russia to ensure a ceasefire. "The [sides] coordinated their positions on the prospects of bringing an OSCE police mission to Donbas and discussed the issue of extending the sanctions against Russia for the non-fulfilment of the Minsk agreements," the report says. "Without resolving security issues in general and a police mission in particular, it is difficult to discuss the possibility of preparations for local elections," the Ukrainian president said. The leaders of Germany and France have also urged new Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Hroysman, appointed the day before, to quickly implement economic reforms and the Minsk agreements on regulating the conflict with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel passed on the message to Ukraine’s President in the phone call. "The new dynamic created by the change in government must translate into rapid and concrete results," reads a statement from the French presidential office issued after the call.