Russia's Putin says Minsk accord should be basis for Ukraine solution

[BERLIN] The Minsk accord, reached in Feb 2015 in the Belarussian capital, should be the basis for a resolution of the crisis in southeast Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters on Wednesday after international talks in Berlin.

The talks with French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko lasted for around five hours.

Mr Putin also said that it was agreed that the monitors from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) will "broaden their mission" in the conflict zones.

He added that the humanitarian situation in south-east Ukraine remained tense.

REUTERS