Ceasefire a ‘glimmer of hope’
Hours after deal ‘critical’ to accord
MINSK: Western European leaders voiced cautious optimism after hammering out a Ukraine peace plan in Minsk yesterday, hailed as a great victory by pro-Russian rebels but met with scepticism by warweary civilians.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was a driving force behind the negotiations, along with French President Francois Hollande, said she had “no illusions” and that “big hurdles” remained in ending the 10-month conflict.
“We now have a glimmer of hope,” she said in the Belarusian capital, adding that “concrete steps must of course be taken and there will still be big hurdles ahead”.
“I have no illusions, we have no illusions,” she said, adding that “much work” remained.
Mr Hollande said the deal included a “comprehensive political solution” and provided “serious hope, even if all is not done”.
The ceasefire is to begin on Sunday. The plan includes heavy weapons being pulled from conflict zones, the release of all prisoners, the withdrawl of foreign fighters from Ukraine, new elections in Donetsk and Luhansk, and the restoration of Ukrainian control over the border with Russia in separatist-controlled areas, conditional on Ukrainian constitutional amendment by the end of the year to grant wide powers to the eastern regions.
The next few hours would be critical to the deal, Mr Hollande later said on arriving in Brussels for a European Union summit. He added that it was essential to keep up pressure to ensure the accord’s success.
“The next few hours will be decisive as it could go either way,” Hollande said. “We will have to remain vigilant, to maintain the pressure and to press ahead.”
Merkel’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said it represented neither “a comprehensive solution” nor a “breakthrough”.
He said he welcomed t he truce plan but “without any exuberance” since “it was a difficult birth”.
“For some it will not be enough. Also we would have wished for more,” he said, voicing hopes that both sides had negotiated “seriously and with good intentions”.
British Premier David Cameron welcomed the new accord but said EU sanctions against Russia would remain in place until real change took place.
“Vladimir Putin needs to know that unless his behaviour changes, the sanctions we have in place won’t be altered,” Mr Cameron said.
“If this is a genuine ceasefire then that would be welcome but what matters most of all is actions,” he added.
European Commission head JeanClaude Juncker said “it’s not the time for sanctions”. Foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini also said that instead of new sanctions she wanted to see “positive ways in which the EU can contribute”.
The leaders of the heavily armed rebels pushing government forces out of eastern Ukraine saw a ground-breaking deal.
The Ukraine peace deal gives “hope for a peaceful resolution” of the 10-month conflict and for development in rebel regions, pro-Russian separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko said.
“This is a great victory for (self-proclaimed rebel regions) the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic,” he told the separatists’ news agency.
“We cannot but give Ukraine this chance. The whole country will change,” fellow rebel leader Igor Plotnitsky said.
Mr Putin joked about the sleepless night in Minsk, but said he was pleased. “It wasn’t the best night of my life but the morning, in my opinion, is a good one because despite all the complexities of the negotiating process we still managed to agree on the main points,” he said.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that “the contact group signed a document that we prepared with a great deal of tension”.
Civilians living in the war-torn Donetsk met the announcement without enthusiasm. “I don’t believe in it at all,” said Lyubov, 62, who would not give her last name. “Every time they sign an agreement, they say one thing and do another. I no longer trust anyone.”