Hollande meets Putin in Moscow in attempt to mend ties

French President Francois Hollande yesterday became the first European leader to fly to Russia in an attempt to defuse the stand-off with Vladimir Putin over Ukraine, where 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 Berlin wall from appearing in Europe, as the conflict in eastern Ukraine 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 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.

As the two sat across from one another, Putin said there are "difficult problems" at hand but that he was sure the visit would "without a doubt contribute to the resolution of many problems", one of which was bound to be Hollande's decision to delay delivery of a Mistral-class helicopter carrier to the Russian navy.

Hollande's last-minute visit, which a source in his delegation said was also agreed with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, comes as Kiev announced a fresh round of talks with the pro-Russian separatists next week.