Ukrainian President To Meet With German, French Leaders

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is due to meet with the French and German leaders in Berlin on August 24 to discuss the escalating violence in eastern Ukraine.

Poroshenko, French President Francois Hollande, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will gather to discuss implementation of the Minsk cease-fire agreement.

The three will hold a press conference after their meeting.

The recent surge in violence in eastern Ukraine has cast doubts on a cease-fire deal between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces.

Ukraine and Russia have traded blame for skirmishes around Ukraine’s southeastern port city of Mariupol.

More than 6,800 people have died in the fighting in eastern Ukraine since April 2014.

Before meeting with Poroshenko, Hollande and Merkel will meet together to review options in the European Union's response to an unprecedented influx of migrants fleeing war and unrest in the Middle East and North Africa.

Based on reporting by AFP and TASS