PARIS, July 09. /ITAR-TASS/. French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel had a telephone conversation on Wednesday with the Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko to discuss developments in eastern Ukraine, the press service of the French president reports.

In a 40-minute-long telephone conversation, the parties discussed the situation in Ukraine after the Ukrainian government had assumed control over some cities in the east.

According to the press service, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he intended “to maintain reserved attitude in the military aspect, so that to avoid casualties among civilians”.

The French and German leaders pointed “to the importance of arriving quickly at a political decision based on bilateral ceasefire, introduction of the mechanism of border monitoring with the help of OSCE representatives and release of all hostages”.

Holland and Merkel also urged Russia to put pressure on people’s militia “to impel them to negotiations”. They also noted the importance for Moscow “to carry out efficient control over the Russian-Ukrainian border”.