Putin, Obama urge swift end to bloodshed in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama emphasized the need for a political solution to the internal conflict in Ukraine to swiftly end the bloodshed in the country's southeast, the Kremlin press service said in a statement on Tuesday reporting a phone conversation between the two leaders, TASS reported.

"The presidents of Russia and the United States stressed the need to resolve Ukraine’s internal problems through political dialogue, to swiftly end the bloodshed, and to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of residents of all Ukrainian regions, including the southeast," the Kremlin said.

Putin gave "a detailed assessment of the situation in Ukraine’s southeast with an emphasis on Russian latest proposals, being discussed also in the context of preparing for a high-level meeting in Minsk planned for February 11," the Kremlin said, adding that the two leaders agreed to maintain contacts at different levels aimed at harmonising positions and approaches to the Ukraine crisis.

Putin is due to meet the leaders of Ukraine, Germany and France on Wednesday in the Belarus capital in an effort to broker a peace deal.