Putin and Ukraine's Poroshenko discuss peace settlement

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has discussed a peace settlement in eastern Ukraine with President Petro Poroshenko and found that they “largely share views” on ways out of the crisis, Putin’s spokesman was quoted as saying on Wednesday. Putin and Poroshenko met last week for talks which mainly highlighted the vastly conflicting views of the two leaders. Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of sending its troops and weapons to support pro-Russian insurgents who have been fighting government troops in eastern Ukraine since mid-April. Moscow has vehemently denied this charge. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies on Wednesday that Putin and Poroshenko in a recent conversation — Peskov didn’t give a date — found that they “largely share views” on what could be done to stop the bloodshed in Ukraine’s east. [caption id=“attachment_1695001” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Russian President Vladimir Putin. AP[/caption] Over the weekend, the European Union leaders agreed to prepare a new round of sanctions that could be enacted in a week, after NATO accused Russia of sending tanks and troops into southeastern Ukraine. A NATO summit in Wales on Thursday is also expected to approve measures designed to counter Russia’s aggressive actions in Ukraine. US President Barack Obama arrived in Estonia Wednesday morning in a show of solidarity with NATO allies who fear they could be the next target of Russia’s aggression. Fighting in eastern Ukraine has killed nearly 2,600 people and forced over 340,000 to flee their homes, according to the UN. Associated Press