AKIPRESS.COM - Ukraine's President said on Monday he would meet the leaders of Russia, France and Germany on January 15 in Astana in Normandy format.

The meeting will be held in an attempt to restore peace to Kiev's eastern territories and acknowledged Kiev lacked the resources to regain control by military means.

He said he had spoken with U.S. President Barack Obama about the possibility of him joining talks on the territories where pro-Russian separatists launched a rebellion in April.

"The most important thing is to turn a fragile ceasefire into a stable peace and return previously occupied territories under the control of Ukrainian authorities," said Poroshenko.

Poroshenko told a news conference he would meet French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russia's Vladimir Putin on Jan. 15. in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana.

He said Kiev would not compromise on sovereignty and wanted east Ukraine, where over 4,700 people have been killed since April, as well as Crimea, annexed by Russia in March, back under its control. But a military solution was not possible.

"We haven't got the resources for an offensive today."

Last week, Ukrainian authorities and separatists exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war, in a step towards a de-escalation of the conflict and which coincided with Russia being hit by deep economic troubles linked to lower oil prices and Western economic sanctions.

"Ukraine is paying an enormous price because of aggression, but Russia is also paying heavily," Poroshenko said.

Poroshenko said Russia had agreed to supply Ukraine with power and coal, in another sign of an easing in tensions.

The so-called Normandy format was established in June when Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko discussed the Ukrainian crisis on the sidelines of the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the D-Day in Normandy, France.