Russian
President Vladimir Putin has struck a conciliatory tone during a visit by his
French counterpart. Francois Hollande is the first Western leader to visit
Moscow since Russia annexed Crimea.
Deutsche Welle, 7 Dec 2014
The two
leaders used their talks at the diplomatic terminal of an airport just outside
Moscow on Saturday to discuss the ongoing conflict between government troops
and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, which has led to a major chill
in relations between the West and the Kremlin.
Following
their meeting, Putin, who just days ago used his annual state-of-the-nation address to warn Russians of difficult times ahead due to sanctions imposed by the West on Russia over the Ukraine crisis, struck a more moderate tone than
expected.
"I
very much hope that in the near future we will have a final ceasefire
agreement" in east Ukraine, Putin said in remarks broadcast on Russian
television.
Without a
fully-implemented truce, "it is difficult to picture Ukraine as a
territorially integral country, and Russia, as is well-known, supports the
territorial integrity of Ukraine," he added.
For his part,
Hollande said the "de-escalation of the Ukrainian crisis is
possible," if a ceasefire agreed by both the Ukraine government and the
rebels at talks held in Minsk in September was fully implemented.
"France
wants this crisis to end because it is causing suffering, for Ukrainians and
because of the sanctions, and because it prevents relations with Russia from
proceeding as they should," Hollande added.
In
consultation with Merkel
The AFP
news agency cited a source within Hollande's delegation who said that the
French president's unscheduled stopover, while en route from neighboring
Kazakhstan to Paris, had been planned in consultation with German Chancellor
Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
The short
visit came ahead of next week's scheduled talks between the Ukrainian
government and pro-Russia rebels in Minsk next week, which are aimed at
rescuing the much-violated ceasefire agreed in September. According to the
United Nations, around 1,000 people have been killed since the truce came into
force.
Tensions
between Moscow and the West have been elevated since Russia annexed Ukraine's
Crimean peninsula back in March. The West also accuses the Kremlin of
supporting the pro-Russia rebels in eastern Ukraine by providing them with
personnel and arms, and has imposed a series of economic sanctions as a result.
Mistral
deal not discussed
Another
bone of contention between Moscow and Paris is a deal in which France is to
deliver warships to Russia. However, France has delayed the delivery of the first Mistral, which had been due this autumn, due to the annexation of Crimea.
Putin said
he had not discussed the matter with Hollande on Saturday, but that he was
working on the assumption that France would honor the contract. If not he said,
France would be required to return the money that it has been paid, but that
Russia would "act with understanding no matter how these events
develop."
pfd/sm (AP, AFP)
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