‘NO ILLUSIONS’ OVER PEACE DEAL: MERKEL
Compliance by Russia will determine fate
It was not a comprehensive solution, and Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, spoke only of a “glimmer of hope.”
But after a gruelling 16-hour negotiating session in Minsk, Belarus, the end of the conflict in Ukraine may finally be in sight.
All sides will suspend hostilities from 12:01 a.m. local time on Sunday morning under the deal agreed by Vladimir Putin, the Russian president and Ukraine’s Petro Poroshenko, midwifed by Ms. Merkel and François Hollande, the French president.
The ceasefire will be followed by a withdrawal of heavy artillery and rocket systems from both sides and an exchange of prisoners.
The deal, which is based on September’s failed Minsk peace agreement, also laid out a road map for a lasting settlement in eastern Ukraine, including an amnesty for separatists and devolution of power from Kiev to the war-torn eastern regions.
Ms. Merkel and Mr. Hollande praised the deal as the best chance yet to end the bloodshed, but emphasized that the agreement was fragile and reversible.
“We now have a glimmer of hope, we have agreed on a comprehensive implementation of Minsk. But ... there are still major hurdles that lie ahead,” said Ms. Merkel.
“I have no illusions. We have no illusions,” she said, adding that “much work” remained.
Ms. Merkel said agreement was only possible when Mr. Putin pressured Alexander Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitsky, the heads of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, into signing the road map negotiated by the four national leaders.
A previous ceasefire deal collapsed after Mr. Zakharchenko and Mr. Plotnitsky announced they wanted full independence from Ukraine and launched an offensive to conquer further territory.
Mr. Putin, who was the first leader to emerge from the talks, said negotiations had dragged on because of Ukrainian refusal to speak directly to separatist leaders and disagreements over the fate of Debaltseve, a strategic railway junction where about 2,000 Ukrainian troops are trying to fight off a separatist encirclement.
“It was not the best night in my life, but [in] the morning, I think, it is good because we have managed to agree on the main things despite all the difficulties of the negotiations,” Mr. Putin said.
Mr. Poroshenko said he found it difficult to trust Mr. Putin, and feared the separatists would use the next two days before the ceasefire to further their gains.
“We demanded immediate ceasefire without any precondition. Unfortunately they demanded we have almost 70 hours before ceasefire was launched. Immediately after the deal was signed, the Russian-backed terrorists started the offensive operation,” he said. “That is why it is vitally important for us, for all of us to keep the pressure to keep the promises about the ceasefire — about the withdrawal of the heavy weapons, about the immediate release of all the hostages, about the withdrawal of all the foreign troops and mercenaries, and the closing of the border.”
Western governments cautiously welcomed the agreement, but warned that it was now up to Mr. Putin to live up to his commitments.
The White House said in a statement that the deal would be meaningless without “concrete steps” towards implantation, including the withdrawal of Russian troops and military equipment from the war zone.
A key element of the deal is the withdrawal of “foreign armed groups” and military equipment, and the disarming of “illegal armed groups.” Russia continues to deny supplying weapons or troops to separatist forces, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Other potential points of disagreement include the provision that Ukraine must devolve power to the regions before it regains its control of its border with Russia and the lack of a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops. Critics have warned that an escalation of violence seems inevitable despite, or perhaps because, of the ceasefire.
Ukrainian officials said that more Russian tanks crossed the border even as the talks continued.
Around 50 tanks, 40 missile systems and 40 armoured vehicles crossed overnight into east Ukraine from Russia via Izvaryne border crossing into the separatist Luhansk region, a Kyiv military spokesman said Thursday.
Meanwhile, correspondents in eastern Ukraine witnessed heavy weaponry heading in the direction of Debaltseve on Thursday, suggesting separatist forces are preparing a last push to finish off the beleaguered Ukrainian garrison there before the ceasefire.
It was not the best night in my life, but the morning, it is good