Poroshenko, Merkel, Hollande, Putin start talks on Ukraine peace

The four leaders have started talks on the Ukraine settlement. Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have gathered at the Independence Palace in Minsk for their meeting.
Almost 500 journalists had gathered to cover the summit. They could see the leaders arrive at the Independence Palace where they were met and greeted by the host – Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
The leaders did not make any statements before the meeting.
The summit may signal a culmination of the intense multilateral efforts to tap clues to resolution of the crisis in south-eastern Ukraine.
Diplomatic efforts on the Ukrainian issue picked pace over the past seven days, as Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande visited Kiev and Moscow where they made public their proposals on how to settle the Ukrainian problem.
On Sunday, the Normandy Four discussed the most recent developments over the phone and appointed a meeting in Minsk for Tuesday.