The European Union (EU) has hailed President Petro Poroshenko's announcement of a ceasefire and a 15-point plan to restore peace in the crisis-hit Ukraine.
"We commend President Poroshenko for his efforts and call on all sides to seize this opportunity to reverse the trend of an ever worsening security and humanitarian situation in eastern Ukraine," Xinhua quoted the European External Action Service (EEAS) as saying Friday.
The EEAS urged parties to "abide by the conditions of the peace plan and actively promote its implementation."
It said, "We in particular call on the Russian Federation to use all its influence to support this plan publicly and through concrete actions."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart Pavlo Klimkin during a phone conversation Friday agreed "to take efforts to support Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's peaceful plan, particularly with an emphasis on effective control of Ukrainian border," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.
The conversation took place after Poroshenko had a telephonic conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.