Oil recovered some of its more than 2% fall in Asian trade on Thursday after Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine accused Kyiv government forces on Thursday of shelling their territory with mortars.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was trading down 0.7% at $92 a barrel after earlier falling more than 2% while Brent crude was trading down 0.6% at $94 a barrel after also dropping earlier by more than 2%.

“Positive news from the US-Iran nuclear negotiations is providing much-needed relief to global oil prices, as the possibility of new crude supplies reduces the supply-demand deficit,” said Claudio Galimberti, senior vice-president of consultancy Rystad Energy.

Meanwhile, Oil tumbled earlier after France and Iran said parties are closer to an agreement to salvage Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, offsetting tensions over Ukraine.

On Wednesday, France said a decision on salvaging Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers is just days away and that it is now up to Tehran to make the political choice, while Tehran called on Western powers to be “realistic”.

With the new deal beckoning, South Korea, previously one of Tehran’s leading oil customers in Asia, said on Wednesday it has held working-level talks on resuming imports of Iranian crude oil and unfreezing Iranian funds.