Poroshenko, Putin, Merkel, Hollande Discuss Situation in Ukraine

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has extended the ceasefire in east Ukraine by nearly a day, or until Monday evening, following a video conference with three foreign leaders.

He held two-hour-long talks with French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin late Sunday in which the steps of what Kiev calls a "peace plan" to deescalate the situation in Ukraine was on the agenda.

A new conference is due to take place after the extended truce ends at 22:00 local time, news agency Interfax reports.

The four-way conversation, which was upon Chancellor Merkel's initiative, concluded with a "positive" assessment of the decision of pro-Russian rebels to free abducted observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on Saturday.

German weekly Der Spiegel reveals the option of sending an OSCE mission to the Donbass was put forward for discussion.

According to the Kremlin's press service, talks held on June 27 between Donbass and Kiev representatives were also acclaimed.

Leaders underscored the importance of "such contacts on a regular basis," it also says.

Russian President Putin for his part stressed the need of immediately sending humanitarian aid to the population in the conflict-stricken region.