MOSCOW (AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held a three-way phone call Saturday, urging warring Ukrainian factions to agree a ceasefire at peace talks, the Kremlin said.

"The hope was expressed that the questions of an urgent ceasefire and the withdrawal of heavy weapons will occupy a central place on the agenda," of truce talks in Minsk, the Kremlin said in a statement.