Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko discussed the situation in his country with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy during a telephone conversation on Monday, the presidential press service said in a statement.
During the phone talk, Van Rompuy expressed concern over the situation in eastern Ukraine and hailed Poroshenko's peace plan to resolve the crisis as an appropriate instrument to de-escalate the tension.
"Today, not only the European Union (EU) countries but the whole world supports the Ukrainian peace plan," Van Rompuy was quoted as saying.
For his part, Poroshenko underlined the importance of adhering to the basic elements of his plan, such as the creation of a 10-km buffer zone on the Ukrainian border with Russia, the release of hostages and the opening of peace talks between insurgents and the government in Kiev.
The Ukrainian president also informed Van Rompuy that the observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation of Europe (OSCE) were about to start their monitoring mission on the checkpoints set by pro-government forces in Lugansk and Donetsk regions.
Poroshenko voiced his hope that the observers from Russia could be among the OSCE monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine.
Poroshenko and Van Rompuy also discussed the signing of an association agreement and a free trade deal between Ukraine and the EU on June 27.