On Tuesday, August 23, Kremlin press service informed that Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande. In this phone call, Putin agreed to meeting at the sidelines the G20 summit, to discuss the issue of Ukraine. This represents a change in stance for Putin, who suggested earlier that he considered such meetings fulite.

According to the press services of the Kremlin, during the phone conversation, Putin expressed his concern about the lack of stability in the east of Ukraine and mentioned alleged Ukrainian provocations in Crimea. On the other hand, the press services of French President reported that during the talks the President of France expressed his concern about the increase tension in the eastern Ukraine and in the Crimea. Moreover, Hollande reiterated “the consistent position of France on the impossibility of accepting the annexation of the Crimea.” The only way he accepts “is a peaceful solution of the conflict, so that Ukraine and Russia implement all the arrangements of the Minsk agreements”.

The meeting was in question until now, after August 10 when Federal Security Service of Russia accused Ukraine of organising terrorist-espionage activities in Crimea. After an arrest ofalleged Ukrainian saboteurs, Putin declared that Ukraine has chosen the way of aggression instead of peaceful negotiations, arguing that in such situation there is no point to talks at the G20 summit in China about peaceful solution in the east of Ukraine. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, concerned about increasing tensions between Ukraine and Russia, did not rule out introducing martial law.

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