Hollande, Obama press for ceasefire talks between Kiev and Ukraine rebels

French President Francois Hollande and US President Barack Obama are pressing for a meeting between rebels and the government in Ukraine "as quickly as possible" to negotiate a bilateral ceasefire, Hollande's office said.

Hollande's office said in a statement that the two leaders spoke by phone on Monday and called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to press separatists to accept dialogue with Ukrainian authorities.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko promised to start talks on a new ceasefire last week. A contact group for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe met in Kiev on Sunday to discuss the situation in Donetsk, but no representatives from the rebels attended and no breakthroughs were announced.

Obama and Hollande called for a meeting "as quickly as possible with separatist elements, with the view to reaching a bilateral ceasefire", the statement said. "A durable solution to the crisis in Ukraine can only be a political one."

The White House said Obama told Hollande that in the absence of meaningful efforts by pro- Russian separatists to pursue peace talks or stick to a ceasefire, the US respects Ukraine's responsibility "to maintain public order in the country and to protect the population".

There are fears that the major cities of Donetsk and Luhansk could be the next focus of serious fighting. Three bridges on roads leading to Donetsk were blown up on Monday - possibly to hinder military movements, though the rebels claim it was the work of pro-Kiev saboteurs.