Minsk will host negotiations on settling the crisis in Ukraine

Lukashenka agreed on that during the telephone conversation with his counterpart Petro Poroshenko on July 29.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in a telephone conversation on July 29 had asked Belarusan President Aliaksandr Lukashenka to host the talks focusing on securing access to the site where a Malaysian airliner was brought down in eastern Ukraine, RFE/RL says with a reference to president’s press office.

The state leaders also discussed "a series of issues of mutual interest".

Petro Poroshenko said that he "approached Belarus President Aliaksandr Lukashenka with a plea to facilitate negotiations of the 3-sided contact group on solution of the Donbas situation on July 31 in Minsk, with participation of Ukraine's former President Leonid Kuchma, Russia's Ambassador Mikhail Zurabov and an OSCE representative”, Euroradio says referring to UNIAN.

Let us mention that the fighting in eastern Ukraine prevented representatives of the OSCE security and rights organization from reaching the crash site on July 29 for the third successive day.

The West says the pro-Russian separatists probably shot the plane down by mistake and accuses Russia of arming them. Moscow denies this.

Ukrainian President Poroshenko also reportedly wants the talks to discuss the release of hostages Kyiv says are being held by the pro-Russian separatists.

The date of the talks remains unclear.