French President Francois Hollande, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko will hold a "short talk" before meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday in Minsk, a source in the French delegation said.

Leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France are meeting to try to agree a ceasefire to end the pro-Russian separatist conflict in which more than 5,000 have been killed since last April.