国际英语新闻:Ukrainian, French presidents discuss Ukraine's crisis

KIEV, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Monday in Paris discussed the crisis in eastern Ukraine, Poroshenko's press service said.

In particular, the two leaders discussed the possible ways out of the conflict in Lugansk and Donetsk regions and agreed to intensify cooperation in the Normandy format, said a statement on the Ukrainian presidential website.

"We have discussed all circumstances thoroughly and determined our tactics for the coming weeks. We agreed to conduct consultations to increase the efficiency of the next possible meeting in the Normandy format," Poroshenko was quoted as saying in the statement.

For his part, Macron said that the next meeting in the Normandy format on Ukraine's crisis may take place in late June or early July.

"I hope we will be able to suggest a series of new conditions in the next Normandy format meeting so that to find comprehensive concrete solutions to the crisis," Macron said.

The armed conflict between government troops and pro-independence insurgents in Ukraine's eastern regions has been raging since April 2014, claiming the lives of more than 10,000 people.

The Normandy format is a diplomatic group of leaders from Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France set up to resolve the conflict in accordance with agreements reached in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, in February 2015.

The previous meeting in the Normandy format was held on Oct. 19, 2016, in Berlin, Germany.

Poroshenko arrived in Paris earlier on Monday for a one-day working visit.