Germany, France cast doubt on January 15 Ukraine summit

French President Francois Hollande prepares to answer journalists during a live interview at the France Inter radio station studios in Paris January 5, 2015. REUTERS/Remy de la Mauviniere/Pool

PARIS (Reuters) - Germany cast doubt on Monday on whether a four-way summit on the Ukraine crisis in Kazakhstan's capital Astana on Jan. 15 would take place and France's president said the meeting would depend on the likelihood of "new progress" being made.

More than 4,700 people have been killed in fighting between Kiev's forces and pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine since last April. The conflict has provoked the worst crisis in relations between Russia and the West since the Cold War.