French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to take urgent measures to deescalate the situation in eastern Ukraine, the Elysee said in a Sunday statement which followed a phone call between the two leaders in which Putin also discussed his intention to withdraw Russian troops from Belarus.

Putin and Macron agreed to resume work within the ‘Normandy format’ – which will also include German and Ukrainian leadership – and will begin discussions “in the next few hours” in order to “obtain a commitment from all the stakeholders” on a ceasefire on the line of contact.

Meanwhile, a meeting between French and Russian ministers of foreign affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian and Sergey Lavrov, will occur “in the coming days.”

“This diplomatic work should make it possible to progress on the basis of the latest exchanges by involving all the stakeholders (Europeans, allies, Russians and Ukrainians) in order to achieve, if the conditions are met, a meeting at the highest level in to define a new order of peace and security in Europe.”

The Kremlin has confirmed the statement, saying “it was agreed to continue contacts at various levels” but did not elaborate on specific details.