Putin-Poroshenko meeting positive but misunderstandings remain

Russian President Vladimir Putin met his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko Friday and the two leaders discussed the eastern Ukraine crisis.

The dialogue was held on the sidelines of the ongoing Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Milan, Italy, BBC reported.

Putin, as he left the meeting, said that the talks were "good" and "positive".

However, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov later described the meet as "full of misunderstandings".

"Unfortunately, some participants of the meet demonstrated complete unwillingness to understand the reality in south-eastern Ukraine," Peskov said.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi were also present at the meeting.

Renzi said the two leaders were constructive in solving the issues between Russia and Ukraine, but big differences remained.

Cameron said Putin had made it clear he did not want a frozen conflict or a divided Ukraine.

But he added that the sanctions would be kept in place until actions agreed on as part of a peace plan chalked out last month in the Belarusian capital Minsk were taken.

Poroshenko met Merkel Thursday when they discussed the peace plan which includes the withdrawal of heavy weaponry by each side 15 km away from the line of contact and the withdrawal of all foreign mercenaries from the conflict zone.