Ukraine ceasefire may take hold soon
French President Francois Hollande said after an impromptu visit to Russia for crisis talks with Vladimir Putin on Saturday that a ceasefire could take hold in eastern Ukraine in the next few days.
The Russian president, who met Hollande during his stopover at a Moscow airport after a trip to Kazakhstan, said he also hoped agreement would be reached soon to shore up a shaky truce reached for east Ukraine on Sept. 5.
Hollande's unexpected visit underlined the West's concern about the conflict between government forces and pro-Russian separatists, and about Putin's increasingly hostile anti-Western rhetoric as he defies calls to do more to end the crisis.
Hollande, the first head of a leading Western power to meet Putin in Russia since Moscow annexed the Crimea peninsula in March, urged all parties to respect the Sept. 5 truce deal.
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"The ceasefire that will be proclaimed tomorrow or the day after must be completely respected," Hollande said in comments broadcast on French television after the talks at Vnukovo airport, southwest of Moscow, without giving details.
"France's role is to search for solutions and prevent problems from degenerating," he added. "I wanted today, alongside President Putin, to send a message of de-escalation. Today that message is possible."
Putin, who looked nervous before he greeted Hollande with a handshake, said they had held detailed discussions on ending the violence in which more than 4,300 people have been killed in mainly Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine since April.
"I very much hope that in the nearest future a final decision on ceasing fire will be taken," Putin told reporters.
Day of Silence