Putin calls on Hollande to mend fences amid Ukraine conflict

YEREVAN: President Vladimir Putin on Friday called on French leader Francois Hollande to restore ties after a year of tensions over Ukraine as the two leaders met on the sidelines of genocide commemorations in Armenia.
“Unfortunately, our ties are not in the best shape, trade turnover is falling including with France which only causes regret,” Putin told Hollande in the Armenian capital Yerevan. “I believe that we have to look for ways to restore our ties and I believe that it’s in everyone’s interest,” he said, signalling Kremlin’s desire to break out of international isolation. Hollande for his part called on Putin to “move forward” with implementing Ukraine peace accords struck in February.
“The best way to overcome what has hindered us would be to move forward with the application of the Minsk agreement.”
In February, Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel travelled to Moscow to help broker a peace deal for war-torn Ukraine in a last-ditch effort to stop months of fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Kiev forces.