RUSSIA used yesterday's D-Day commemorations to signal an apparent detente over the Ukraine conflict, as Vladimir Putin met the country's new leader for the first time and called for an end to fighting on both sides.

On the sidelines of ceremonies to mark the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings, Mr Putin held what aides described as a brief but significant meeting with Petro Poroshenko, the victor in last month's Ukrainian presidential elections.

The 15-minute conversation was the first time the two men had spoken since Moscow's annexation of Crimea in February. Back then, Mr Poroshenko was chased from the peninsula by a pro-Russian mob while attempting a peacemaking mission.

Confirming the talks, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said: "Both Putin and Poroshenko called for a speedy end to the bloodshed in south-eastern Ukraine, as well as to fighting on both sides – by the Ukrainian armed forces as well as by supporters of the federalisation of Ukraine."

Mr Peskov added: "They also confirmed that there was no alternative to resolving the situation with peaceful political methods."

Warning

The encounter followed a warning on Thursday from US president Barack Obama that if Russia failed to recognise Mr Poroshenko as Ukraine's new leader, it could face further sanctions.

"If he continues a strategy of undermining the sovereignty of Ukraine, then we have no choice but to respond," Mr Obama had said.

However, while Mr Putin's meeting with Mr Poroshenko will be seen as at least a tacit recognition of his legitimacy, the pair remain very much at odds.

Mr Poroshenko has made no secret of his desire for Kiev to strengthen its ties with the European Union, which Russia bitterly opposes.

When Mr Putin and Mr Poroshenko later briefed reporters, their different concerns were also apparent.

Mr Putin praised Mr Poroshenko for what he called the "right approach" to the crisis, but said that talks could only begin once Ukraine's "punitive" military action against Russian separatists had ended.

Mr Poroshenko, meanwhile, spoke of the need for the Kremlin to formally recognise him as president.

The diplomatic gestures over Ukraine came as violence continued unabated in the east of the country, where more than 180 people have died in clashes. Even as the assembled leaders made speeches on the importance of maintaining Europe's post-war peace, reports from Russian media spoke of Ukrainian tanks being deployed in Slavyansk, the centre of much of the recent trouble.

Pro-Russian separatists operating from a church in the city also killed a member of the Ukrainian interior ministry's special forces in a mortar attack, Ukrainian officials said.

None the less, sensing the possibility of a diplomatic breakthrough between Kiev and Moscow, other world leaders sought to add to the mood of reconciliation during their D-Day speeches.

UK prime minister David Cameron said: "Yes, of course we have our disagreements today with Russia, but we should never forget that Russia – the Soviet Union – was an ally of Britain and America, the Free French, Canadian and Australian forces, that liberated this continent from the tyranny of Nazism."

Yesterday's ceremonies also saw signs of a thaw in relations between Washington and Moscow, which are at their worst since the Cold War.

During the public sections of the ceremonies, Mr Obama and Mr Putin avoided being seen to speak to each other.

Later, however, they shared a 15-minute conversation – their first since the hostilities over Ukraine began. (© Daily Telegraph, London)

Irish Independent