FILE PHOTO: Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland January 26, 2018. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone to his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Peskov, on a conference call with reporters on Wednesday, said Poroshenko initiated the call and expressed his condolences on the deaths of 71 people in a plane crash at the weekend near Moscow.

Poroshenko offered Ukraine’s help investigating the causes of the crash, Peskov said. The aircraft was manufactured in Ukraine. The two leaders also talked about the conflict between their two countries, and discussed the need to continue prisoner exchanges, and fully implement the Minsk peace deal.