Ukraine in Arabic | Russia refuted statement of Ukraine about mutual ceasefire
KYIV/Ukraine in Arabic/ The Kremlin spokesperson Andrey Peskov has pointed out that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko did not discuss a ceasefire in Donbas but instead focused on measures to promote that ceasefire.
He confirmed the telephone conversation between president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and Russia’s Vladimir Putin but said that no such accord had been made.
"Putin and Poroshenko really discussed the steps that would contribute to a ceasefire between the militia and the Ukrainian forces. Russia cannot physically agree to a ceasefire because it is not a party to the conflict", Peskov said.
Pro-Russian separatists are battling Kiev’s forces in the mainly Russian-speaking Donbass region, which is home to most of Ukraine’s heavy industry and accounts for about 18 percent of the country’s economic output.
A senior rebel leader in the east of Ukraine also said on Wednesday that his separatists would stand by their demand that Ukrainian troops withdraw from what he called “our territory” as the main condition for any eventual ceasefire agreement.