Ukraine peace deal: Russia and Ukraine agree to cease-fire
News February 12, 2015 1 Comment on Ukraine peace deal: Russia and Ukraine agree to cease-fireMINSK, Belarus — The leaders of France Germany Russia and Ukraine have reached a ceasefire deal after 17 hours of talks in Minsk, Belarus, on the Ukrainian conflict.
The ceasefire will come into force on Sunday as part of a deal that also involves the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the front line.
Russian president Vladimir Putin was the first to announce the deal, saying: “We have agreed on a ceasefire from midnight 15 February.”
Putin added: “There is also the political settlement. The first thing is constitutional reform that should take into consideration the legitimate rights of people who live in Donbass. There are also border issues. Finally there are a whole range of economic and humanitarian issues.”
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said there was no agreement on any autonomy or federalization for eastern Ukraine, a longtime demand of Russia, which wants that to maintain leverage over Ukraine and prevent it from ever joining NATO.
The deal, however, requires the Ukrainian parliament to give wide powers to the eastern regions as a condition for restoring Ukraine’s full control over its border with Russia — a provision certain to trigger heated political debate in Kiev.
The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, who helped to broker the deal alongside the French president, François Hollande, said “we now have a glimmer of hope”, but added that the leaders were under no illusions and that “there is very, very much work still to do”.
The main points of the agreement are:
1. Ceasefire to begin at midnight on 15 February;
2. Heavy weapons withdrawn in a two week period starting from 17 February;
3. Amnesty for prisoners involved in fighting;
4. Withdrawal of all foreign militias from Ukrainian territory and the disarmament of all illegal groups;
5. Lifting of restrictions in rebel areas of Ukraine;
6. Decentralisation for rebel regions by the end of 2015;
7. Ukrainian control of the border with Russia by the end of 2015;
France’s president also said a ceasefire deal and a “comprehensive political solution” agreed in Belarus on Thursday provides “serious hope, even if all is not done.”
“All matters are dealt with by this document signed by the contact group” and the pro-Russians, Hollande said.
Hollande said he and Merkel are committed to helping verify the cease-fire process in Ukraine, hailing the deal as a “relief to Europe.”
Russian President Putin told reporters, “It was not the best night in my life, but the morning, I think, is good because we have managed to agree on the main things despite all the difficulties of the negotiations.”
The two mainly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations to silence protests there in mid-April 2014.
Violence intensified in May last year after the two flashpoint regions held local referendums in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine and joining the Russian Federation.
The fighting has reportedly left 5,500 people dead, and more than 12,900 others injured.
PT/RT/TG/EN
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