Ukraine in Arabic | Poroshenko and Putin to reach a compromise
KYIV/Ukraine in Arabic/ Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russia’s Vladimir Putin have found a solution about hard situation at Eastern Ukraine. According to Poroshenko’s press office a permanent ceasefire in Donbas has been agreed between presidents in a telephone conversation.
"The conversation resulted in an agreement on a lasting ceasefire in Donbass. Mutual understanding was achieved regarding steps that would promote the establishment of peace," it said.
But there was no immediate sign on the ground of a halt in the fighting between Kiev's forces and pro-Russian separatists in the mainly Russian-speaking region, which is home to much of Ukraine's heavy industry.
Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov had reported a telephone conversation between Putin and Poroshenko earlier on Wednesday, saying that the two leaders "continued discussions regarding the military and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine."
"The chiefs of state exchanged opinions as to what should be done primarily to stop bloodshed in the southeastern part of the country as soon as possible. The presidents' viewpoints on possible ways to overcome the grave and critical situation coincide to a considerable degree," he said.
"At the moment that journalists told me of a ceasefire, we came under fire twice," Serhiy Melnichuk, commander of the Aidar volunteer militia battalion in the Donbass, told Ukraine's 112 TV channel.
The cautious initial reaction from Ukrainian side
"We have received no orders yet. Russia needs to remove its forces from our territory ... We have to stop this slaughter, we are destroying the nation."
Interfax quoted a leading separatist in Donetsk, the biggest city of the Donbass, as saying the pro-Russian rebels were ready to halt their military operations if Kiev also accepted a ceasefire.
"If the Ukrainian side observes its promises on a ceasefire, we are ready for a political resolution of the process," said Miroslav Rudenko, a deputy in the local assembly of the self-proclaimed "Donetsk people's republic".
According to the United Nations, the war has killed more than 2,600 people and driven nearly a million from their homes in eastern Ukraine.