NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday welcomed a pullback by the Ukrainian army and Moscow-backed separatists in eastern
Ukraine, but reiterated calls for
Russia to "withdraw all their troops".
The move was a precondition for the first face-to-face talks between
Russian President
Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.
"We welcome all efforts to reduce tensions, to withdraw forces and to make sure that we have a peaceful solution to the conflict," Stoltenberg said in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa, praising Zelensky's "renewed effort".