Russia, France Demand Immediate Ceasefire in Eastern Ukraine

World | December 8, 2014, Monday // 10:39|  views

French President Francois Hollande and his Russia colleague Vladimir Putin during meeting at Moscow's Vnukovo airport on Saturday. Photo: EPA

Russia and France insist on the declaration of an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and bringing to an end the bloodshed that has gripped the eastern part of the country, the two countries' presidents say.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Francois Hollande announced their position after an unexpected meeting on Saturday afternoon.

Hollande made a surprising visit to Moscow, on his return trip from Kazakhstan, meeting Putin at Vnukovo airport.

Hollande is one of the first Western leaders to visit Russia since the annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of the Ukrainian conflict.

The two heads of state discussed the situation in Ukraine, expressing their hope for the establishment of an immediate ceasefire.

They urged both sides in the conflict to respect and implement the provisions of the Minsk agreement, that had been agreed on September 5.

This comes in light of the renewed efforts to bring a more lasting ceasefire.

Hollande also held a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Saturday, in which the two reaffirmed the implementation of the Minsk agreement as an important step towards the peaceful resolution of the conflict.

During his visit to Chuhuiv air base on Saturday, Poroshenko said that the next meeting of the trilateral contact group on Ukraine has been scheduled for December 9 in Minsk.

At the meeting, representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) are to discuss the implementation of the Minsk agreements, in particular the declaration of ceasefire and the withdrawal of heavy armament.

The date of the meeting coincides with the “Day of Silence”, that Poroshenko had declared last week.

Putin and Hollande also talked about the problems surrounding the solution of the ongoing crisis in Syria, as well as Iran's nuclear programme.

The suspension of the delivery of the first Mistral warship, that France had built under Russian contract, was not raised at their meeting.

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Tags: Russia, Ukraine, France, Vladimir Putin, francois hollande, Petro Poroshenko, ceasefire, Minsk, agreement, OSCE, Contact Group, Syria, Iran, Mistral

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