BERLIN -- The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France agreed Wednesday on a "road map" aimed at reviving the stalled peace process in eastern Ukraine, though details of the plan still need to be worked out by the countries' foreign ministers over the coming month. While Syria is likely to inform Thursday’s discussion on Russia, leaders are expected to do little more than distil Monday’s declaration from foreign ministers which denounced Russia’s actions in Aleppo. Merkel invited Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and French President Francois Hollande to "assess the implementation of the Minsk (peace) agreements since the last meeting and discuss further steps," Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement Tuesday. The talks will take place just over a year after the four leaders last met in the so-called “Normandy Format,” and against the backdrop of heightened tensions between Russia, Europe and the United States about Moscow’s military role in Syria. The 2015 Minsk agreement brokered by France and Germany has helped end large-scale battles between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine, but clashes have continued and efforts to reach a political settlement have stalled.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel invites the presidents of Russia, Ukraine, and France to meet tomorrow in Berlin to discuss peace efforts in eastern Ukraine.