Putin, Poroshenko Agree on Permanent Cease-Fire in Ukraine

[mastercode]

BOOK INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS TICKETS LOCAL FLIGHTS HOTELS BOOKINGS WORLDWIDE AND MORE AT CHEAPEST RATE EVER! CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FLIGHT AND RECEIVE YOUR FLIGHT TICKET INSTANTLY

Loading...

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko largely agreed on steps to a cease-fire, Putin's spokesman said, denying Ukraine's assertion that the leaders reached agreement on a truce.

"The result of a conversation was an agreement on a permanent cease-fire in Donbas," according to a statement on the Ukrainian president's website today. "There was a mutual understanding on the steps to promote peace." Russia couldn't agree to a cease-fire as it is not part of the conflict, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today.



While conciliatory statements from Russia haven't always lead to de-escalation in the past, this is Poroshenko's most definitive statement yet on progress in finding a solution to the conflict. Ukraine, the U.S. and Europe accuse Russia of dispatching soldiers and backing pro-Russian rebels in fighting that the United Nations estimates has cost at least 2,600 lives. Russia, which is facing further sanctions as early as this week over the unrest, has repeatedly denied involvement.

U.S. President Barack Obama is in Tallinn, Estonia, to reassure North Atlantic Treaty Organization members of their security before heading to this week's alliance summit in the U.K.