Paris, Berlin urge Poroshenko to press ahead with reforms

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko places a poppy in the World War I Honour Roll during their visit to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, December 12, 2014. REUTERS/Jason Reed

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande urged Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko on Sunday to press ahead with reforms to facilitate an economic recovery and access to foreign aid.

Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement the two leaders encouraged Poroshenko in a telephone call "to get the planned sweeping reforms under way."