Sunday 8 February 2015

Ukraine crisis: Leaders plan new Minsk peace talks

 The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France aim to meet in Belarus's capital Minsk
on Wednesday to discuss a peace plan for eastern Ukraine.

It comes after leaders of the four countries discussed the ongoing conflict by telephone on Sunday.
More than 5,300 people have been killed by fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russia rebels since April 2014.
Western countries accuse Russia of arming the rebels and sending troops to Ukraine - claims Russia denies.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande have been leading efforts to establish a new peace plan.
Analysis: Jonathan Marcus, BBC diplomatic correspondent, Munich
The pace of diplomatic activity to reach a deal to resolve the Ukraine crisis has been dramatically accelerating. With German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the driving seat and French President Francois Holland as her co-pilot, the push is on for a deal. 
However, while few details have been provided, this is not a substantially new peace plan. 


When I spoke to UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on Saturday, he was reluctant to even go so far as labelling it as "Minsk Plus". A deal is still an aspiration rather than an approaching reality. 
The level of frustration many Western countries feel against Russia's policies has been palpable - Mr Hammond for example branded President Vladimir Putin as "some kind of 20th-Century tyrant". 
The heady optimism surrounding last year's deal evaporated quickly. This year people are much, much more cautious.
The detailed proposals of the peace plan have not been released, but the plan is thought to include a demilitarised zone of 50-70km (31-44 miles) around the current front line.
Mrs Merkel, Mr Hollande, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin held an "extensive" telephone conference on Sunday, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement.
Mrs Merkel and Mr Hollande (right) met Mr Putin in Moscow on Friday
The four parties discussed "a package of measures" to try to reach "a comprehensive settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine", Mr Seibert said, adding that the leaders aimed to meet on Wednesday.
However, Mr Putin said the planned meeting would only take place "if by that time we manage to agree on a number of points".
Signatories of a previous ceasefire deal - Ukraine, Russia, rebel representatives and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) - would also meet in Minsk on Wednesday, Mr Seibert said.
That deal, which was signed in Minsk last September, failed to end the fighting and the rebels have since seized more ground.

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