Truce agreement in eastern Ukraine enters into force

On Monday, an agreement on a complete and comprehensive cessation of fire between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine entered into force. So far, there is no information about its violation. An agreement between the negotiators of Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE was reached last Wednesday.

The press service of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, published a statement that "the breakthrough (in the negotiations) was the result of the effective actions of the Ukrainian delegation, with the support of our international partners in Berlin and Paris." The statement underlined that a complete and comprehensive ceasefire is a prerequisite for the implementation of the Minsk agreements of 2015.

The presidents of Russia and Ukraine, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky, positively assessed the conclusion of the truce during a telephone conversation on Sunday and emphasized, according to the Kremlin's communiqué, that "the importance of strict compliance with these arrangements by the participants in the conflict".

However, according to the press service of the President of Ukraine the additional steps were urgently needed to support a ceasefire.

(PAP)