Leaders Agree Further Steps For Ukrainian Cease-Fire

The leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France agreed to take further steps to implement the cease-fire agreement in the Ukraine conflict, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement released late Monday evening. 



Seibert said the leaders, who held a conference call Tuesday, welcomed the progress so far in the implementation of the cease-fire between Ukrainian forces and the pro-Russian separatists agreed to on Feb. 12 in the Belarus capital of Minsk, and calling for a stronger role for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in monitoring the cease-fire and withdrawal of the weapons.



"The leaders agreed on the urgency for the exchange of prisoners and the delivery of the humanitarian aid with the participation of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Once the conditions are met, the working groups stipulated in the Minsk agreement will be established, and they will start to address the remaining issues such as the preparations for local elections in the regions of Lugansk and Donetsk."



Seibert said senior diplomats from four countries will meet in Berlin on Friday to discuss the implementation of the topics discussed by the leaders.



The Feb. 12 cease-fire agreement includes the withdrawal of heavy weaponry from combat areas, the withdrawal of all foreign armed forces and the release of all hostages and unlawfully detained persons, as well as political reforms and decentralization in Ukraine's eastern regions.



More than 6,000 people have lost their lives in the conflict between Ukrainian forces and the pro-Russian separatists since April 2014, a United Nations human rights monitoring group reported Monday.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Berlin