YEREVAN, JANUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. Russian and French Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Francois Hollande, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed over the phone on January 18 the progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements and expressed dissatisfaction with the overall situation with resolving the Ukrainian crisis, “Armenpress” reports, citing TASS.

"They noted, in particular the deterioration of the situation along the line of contact in the Donbass region and the lack of effectiveness in the work of the Contact Group," the Kremlin press service reported.

"They agreed to give fresh impetus to the activities within the Normandy Four format. To that end, it is planned to hold a number of joint activities at different levels in the near future," the press service said.