All political leaders must also publicly express their support for the truce. , Merkel said to President Putin on Sunday in a telephone conversation with French President François Hollande and the Russian leader.

After the Russian government also pledged support for the ceasefire, the leaders emphasised the necessity for all sides to abide by it as well as the need to initiate a political negotiation process. The security of the Ukrainian-Russian border was another topic of the conversation. Russia and the Ukraine should work together here, government spokesperson Steffen Seibert said on Monday, through joint border controls and a coordination mechanism, for example.

Intensive contacts with the Ukrainian government

The Federal Chancellor also had a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Poroshenko over the weekend. She expressly welcomed the efforts by the Ukraine to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

The Federal Government is working hard to help de-escalate the conflict in the Ukraine, Seibert stressed in Berlin. The Federal Chancellor welcomes all efforts towards a peaceful solution, he said.

Russia has a role to play

Following her interview with the Estonian Prime Minister on 20 June, Merkel had declared that she expects Russia to respond "in a positive and constructive way" to a push for peace from the Ukrainian side. "This means that an end needs to be put to destabilisation attempts and that the Ukraine's territorial integrity needs to be once again fully respected."

 The Federal Chancellor and Presidents Hollande and Putin agreed to stay in close contact with regard to the situation in the Ukraine. Russia is expected to "exert its influence on the separatists in an audible and visible way" so that they also respect the ceasefire, said government spokesperson Steffen Seibert.

Consultations at the European level

 The new Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Pavlo Klimkin reported on the situation in his country at the Council of European Union Foreign Ministers in Luxembourg on 23 June. At the meeting, the EU Foreign Ministers decided to grant aid to the Ukraine in the field of civil security. They also prepared the signing of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.

The signing of the agreement, the political provisions of which were signed in March, is scheduled for June 27. The European Council will then also examine the global situation in the Ukraine.

President Poroshenko's peace plan

Ukrainian President Poroshenko presented a peace plan which includes measures intended to calm the situation in his country. The Federal Government explicitly welcomes this peace plan, which could constitute "a key building stone on the way to a political solution".

 The plan includes provisions for an extensive amnesty for fighters, the release of prisoners, the restoration of local administrations, an effective decentralisation of the Ukraine, and early parliamentary elections.