BRUSSELS--France and Germany will continue talks in the coming days with Russia and Ukraine, French President François Hollande said Thursday, as a lull in fighting in eastern Ukraine has raised hopes that a more lasting peace is at hand.

European leaders in March will examine whether steps have been taken by Russia that would allow European Union sanctions to be eased, Mr. Hollande said.

Mr. Hollande said the four nations have restarted talks that began over the summer, when he met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Normandy. Those discussions stopped after a cease-fire agreement reached in Minsk wasn't respected.

"For several days, even several weeks, we have restarted the initiative, " Mr. Hollande told reporters after a European summit here.

But Mr. Hollande said that Russia needs to do more before it would be possible to relax sanctions imposed on Moscow by the EU for supporting rebels in Ukraine's eastern provinces.

There have been "first steps," he said, but now the entire Minsk agreement must be respected. That includes requirements for Russia to remove heavy weaponry from eastern Ukraine and rebel groups to free prisoners, he said.

Write to Matthew Dalton at Matthew.Dalton@wsj.com

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