RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin issued his own peace plan for eastern Ukraine yesterday, calling on resistance forces to “stop advancing” and urging Kiev to withdraw its troops from the region.

Mr Putin was obliged to go public after an apparent understanding with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was buried beneath a welter of anti-Russian charges by Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk.

Mr Yatsenyuk said that no plan from Mr Putin could ever be trusted.

He added that Kiev was seeking special ally status with Nato and was beginning “Project Wall,” which would involve building a “real border” with Russia.

Moscow spokesman Dmitry Peskov clarified that the Russian leader had not agreed a ceasefire with Mr Poroshenko “because Russia is not a party to the conflict. They only discussed how to settle the conflict.”

Mr Putin, who was in the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator discussing increased trade and improved transport links with his counterpart Elbegdorj Tsakhia, said that he had devised a seven-point peace plan on the plane trip there.

“The warring parties should immediately co-ordinate and do the following things together,” he said in televised comments.

“The first thing is for the armed forces and insurgents of the south-east of Ukraine to stop active advancing in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.

“Second is for the Ukrainian military to withdraw their troops to a safe distance that will make artillery and other strikes on populated areas impossible.”

He also urged an unconditional exchange of prisoners and looked forward to a final agreement between Kiev and the rebels to be reached tomorrow at peace talks in the Belarus capital Minsk.

Interfax news agency later carried positive remarks from anti-fascist commander Miroslav Rudenko, who said that there would be “no sense in a military solution to the conflict” if Kiev were to withdraw its troops.

He said earlier this week that they would respect Ukraine’s sovereignty in exchange for regional autonomy.

Mr Putin has ignored their earlier calls for annexation by Russia.

Ukrainian military official Mykhailo Logvinov said yesterday that the bodies of 87 soldiers killed near Ilovyask at the weekend in a major defeat for Kiev had been retrieved.

Francois Hollande announced yesterday that France has suspended delivery of a warship built for Russia.