The leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany arrived in Minsk on Wednesday for last-ditch talks aimed at agreeing a ceasefire in the 10-month conflict in eastern Ukraine, even as fighting raged on the ground.
The meeting came with the International Monetary Fund expected to announce as soon as Thursday a new rescue package for Ukraine which is likely to lead to a restructuring of the country’s privately-held debts.
The summit of Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, Russian president Vladimir Putin, German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Fran?ois Hollande in the Belarusian capital is the culmination of a frantic week of diplomacy aimed at defusing the crisis.