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Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Ukrainian president-elect Petro Poroshenko on Friday during the D-Day anniversary held in Normandy, and called for an end to the violence and bloodshed on both sides, his spokesman said.
Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, was quoted as saying, “Putin and Poroshenko called for the soonest possible end to bloodshed in southeastern Ukraine, and to military operations on both sides — both by the Ukrainian armed forces and by supporters of the federalization of Ukraine.They also confirmed that there was no alternative but to resolving the situation with peaceful political methods”.
Peskov said that the Ukrainian and Russian leaders held a brief “standing up” conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande among world leaders in attendance at the 70th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy. Putin was also seen having a brief exchange with US counterpart Barack Obama earlier on Friday – the two of them held an informal talk, diplomatic sources said, amidst the worst crisis in relations between Russia and the United States in decades due to the unrest in Ukraine. They exchanged comments while heading to lunch held for world leaders to mark the 70th anniversary of D-Day landings.
US Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said at a meeting at the Chateau Benouville, which lasted for 15 minutes. “President Obama and President Putin did speak with each other on the margins of the leaders’ lunch. It was an informal conversation — not a formal bilateral meeting”, he said.
This is the first time Putin and Obama have had a face-to-face encounter since the crisis in Ukraine began and since last year’s G20 summit in St Petersburg. As punishment for Crimea’s annexation and for what the west considers as meddling in Ukraine, Russia has suffered diplomatic and economic sanctions, and has effectively been expelled from the G7.