Germany's Foreign Ministry says talks between senior officials from Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine to pave the way for a summit of leaders in Minsk will resume in the Belarusian capital.

The ministry says that officials from the four countries will meet again in Minsk tonight, following a meeting in Berlin until late last night. They will try to iron out differences so that the leaders of the four countries can meet in the Belarusian capital to seek a diplomatic resolution to the Ukraine crisis.

The ministry says Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke by phone with both Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin this afternoon to push for compromises on difficult issues that remain open.