<span style="color: #222222;">Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed over telephone the need to step up  the diplomatic solutions to the escalating crisis in eastern Ukraine yesterday.<br />''<br />''In a statement the Kremlin said, in view of the urgency of the situation, the Presidents acknowledged the need to intensify the search for solutions through diplomatic means via the foreign ministries and political advisers to the leaders of the Normandy format involving four countries, Germany, Russia, Ukraine and France.<br />''<br />''The statement added these contacts should facilitate the restoration of the ceasefire regime and ensure progress in the settlement of the conflict in Donbass.<br />''<br />''Earlier in  a separate call, Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also discussed possible ways to secure immediate de-escalation.<br />''<br />''In a recent development, US President Joe Biden has agreed in principle to hold a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the crisis over Ukraine. The meeting could offer a possible diplomatic solution to one of the worst security crises in Europe in decades. The proposal was announced by the French presidency after two phone calls between President Emmanuel Macron and Mr Putin, which went on for almost three hours in total.</span><br />