Vienna - Slovenian President Borut Pahor and Austria's Alexander Van der Bellen made an appeal for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, as they issued a joint statement following a meeting on Tuesday.

"we condemn the Russian war aggression against Ukraine and calls for an immediate ceasefire to end the suffering of innocent people," reads the joint statement.

The presidents also welcomed the decision by Kyiv and Moscow to continue negotiations. "Only political dialogue can lead to peace," they said.

Van der Bellen thanked Pahor for the visit on Twitter saying that "close exchange with friendly neighbours is more important than ever in times of crisis."