France, Germany and Russia back plans for a complete ceasefire in eastern Ukraine from Sept. 1, the French presidency said after their respective leaders spoke by telephone yesterday. Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists, in a gesture to shore up a tenuous ceasefire, agreed on Aug. 26 to strive for an end to all truce violations from next Tuesday, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and rebel representatives have said. In a statement, French President Francois Hollande's office said he also agreed with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin that it would be useful to hold a summit with Ukraine's Petro Poroshenko in the coming weeks.