President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed in talks in Rio de Janeiro that "the situation in Ukraine has regrettably taken a turn for degradation," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Both leaders said that, "the contact group for Ukraine should resume its work as soon as possible, probably in a video conferencing format," according to Peskov.
Putin and Merkel urged an early ceasefire in Ukraine and a re-launch of monitoring activity.
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