Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to enforce a ceasefire deal to end the violence in eastern Ukraine, under heavy pressure from EU leaders at a summit in Milan, though a clear breakthrough to end the conflict remained elusive, Financial Times has reported.
The presidents also agreed on joint surveillance of the Ukrainian border with drones.
The meeting between Poroshenko and Putin involving the leaders of the EU was organized by Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi so that the Ukrainian and Russian sides could try to find a way to effectively enforce a ceasefire deal that was reached in Minsk last month. Renzo described the meeting as "really positive."
"Obviously there are a lot of differences but I would underline the real desire to find a solution and for this reason I think we can be positive after this meeting," he said.
Putin himself described the meeting with Poroshenko as "positive."