Putin, Hollande try to defuse Ukraine tension

French president Francois Hollande on Saturday became the first European leader to fly to Russia in an attempt to defuse the standoff with Vladimir Putin over Ukraine, where the latest round of peace talks 

will take place next week. 

Meeting with Putin in the diplomatic terminal of an airport outside the capital, Hollande said he hoped to stop a new east-west division from arising in Europe, as the conflict in eastern Ukraine has plunged its relations with Moscow to a post-Cold War low. “There are times when we need to seize opportunities. This is such a time... I think we must prevent other walls from separating us,” said Hollande, who also spoke to Ukraine’s president Petro Poroshenko earlier in the day. “We must find solutions together,” he told the Russian leader, who this week gave a militant speech accusing the West of undermining Russia. 

Putin said there are “difficult problems” to tackle but that the visit would “without a doubt contribute to the resolution of many problems.