Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba held the first telephone conversation with his new French counterpart Catherine Colonna.

He said this on his Twitter.

"We agreed on the need to increase sanctions pressure on Russia, including the oil embargo, and discussed granting Ukraine EU candidate status," Kuleba said.

He added that he is looking forward to Catherine Colonna's first visit to Ukraine.

This week, Catherine Colonna expressed confidence that the EU would be able to agree a sixth package of sanctions against Russia with the oil embargo.