Kremlin Says Putin and Merkel to Meet June 6

Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday in France, where they are attending D-Day anniversary events, a Kremlin aide said Tuesday.

"Before the ceremonial events, on Friday morning a meeting is planned with German Chancellor Angela Merkel," said presidential aide Yury Ushakov, cited by the RIA Novosti news agency.

French President Francois Hollande has invited Putin to commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the 1944 D-Day landings in Normandy, where fellow guests include U.S. President Barack Obama and Ukraine's president elect Petro Poroshenko.

Putin and Merkel had a telephone conversation on Tuesday and "exchanged opinions on Ukraine," the Kremlin said in a statement.

"The Russian president and the German chancellor spoke in favor of developing coordinated measures to deescalate the crisis," the Kremlin said.

The leaders also discussed ongoing talks between Russia, the European Union and Ukraine over Moscow's threat to cut off Ukraine's supply over its unpaid debts, the Kremlin said, without giving details.

Putin is going to France on Thursday and will have dinner with Hollande at the Elysee Palace. He is also set to hold face-to-face talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday in Normandy.

Ushakov said there were no current plans for a one-on-one meeting between Putin and Obama on Friday, RIA Novosti reported.