French President Francois Hollande said after an unscheduled 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, Reuters reports on Saturday.
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 September 5.
According to the news agency, 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.
"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."
"I very much hope that in the nearest future a final decision on ceasing fire will be taken," Putin told reporters.
