Russia announced today that the Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande and discussed the potential costs for Europe regarding the conflict between Russia and Ukraine about Russian natural gas.

The statement mentioned also that Mr Putin during his conversation with the leaders of Germany and France expressed his “deep concern” on the military operation against the Ukrainian pro-Russian separatists in the eastern provinces of the country.

“They also talked about the possible consequences on the energy security of Europe and the economies of European countries after the failure of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine regarding the settlement of the Ukrainian debt to Russia concerning the gas deliveries” the announcement also mentioned.