German Chancellor Angela Merkel is to host a meeting with her counterparts from France, Russia and Ukraine in a bid to end the two-year coflict in eastern Ukraine.

However, she played down the chances of anything positive coming from the talks in Berlin. Other top officials also dampened expectations.

The war between the EU-backed Ukraine government and the Russia-backed rebels has claimed nearly 10,000 lives to date.

Meanwhile, Merkel said she and French President Francois Hollande would also discuss the Syria conflict with Russian President Vladimir Putin.