MOSCOW, June 23. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed the situation in Ukraine in a telephone conversation with German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the context of telephone talks between President Vladimir Putin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s press service reported.

“It was stated that at this time a stable ceasefire should be attained as a definite condition to begin taking practical steps to launch dialogue between Kiev authorities and representatives of protesters in southeast Ukraine,” the ministry’s press service said.

The ministers raised “Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe OSCE’s role in building up trust between conflicting Ukrainian parties, the need to find a just solution to “the gas problem” and soonest consultations between Moscow, Kiev and Brussels to scrutinise aftermath of an association agreement which Ukraine and the European Union plan to conclude,” the Russian diplomatic agency said.

The foreign ministers agreed to keep closely in touch over all above-mentioned and other issues, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.