PARIS: French President Francois Hollande warned Tuesday against any "escalation" of the Ukraine conflict after telephone talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The consultation, at Poroshenko's request, followed accusations by Moscow last week -- firmly denied by Ukraine -- that Kiev's forces had attempted armed incursions into Russian-annexed Crimea.
Hollande reaffirmed France's rejection of the 2014 annexation, saying it would never recognise Russia's claim over the peninsula, and urged both sides to respect the February 2015 Minsk ceasefire accord, his office said in a statement.
The French leader urged continued efforts to implement the Minsk agreement under the so-called Normandy format, which groups Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany.
Hollande said any new hostilities would hamper prospects of elections in the rebel east of Ukraine.
The deadline for a permanent solution to one of Europe's deadliest conflicts since the 1990s Balkan wars has now been extended from the end of last year to the start of 2017.
The conflict has claimed more than 9,300 lives since it erupted in April 2014.
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