Ukraine ceasefire aims to pave way for

comprehensive settlement of crisis

If fragile agreement holds, ambitious political measures including a new
Ukrainian constitution and special status for rebel-held areas should
follow

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Vladimir Putin announces ceasefire for Ukraine after all-night negotiations

Ian Traynor, Europe editor-Thursday 12 February 2015

A ceasefire in eastern Ukraine intended to pave the way for a

comprehensive political settlement of the countrys crisis has been agreed
in Minsk following a fraught 16 hours of overnight negotiations between the
leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany, and France.
The marathon summit in the Belarus capital resulted in a pact early on
Thursday providing for a ceasefire between Ukrainian government troops
and Russian-backed separatists from Sunday, the withdrawal of heavy
weaponry from the battle zone, which is to be demilitarised, amnesties on
both sides and exchanges of prisoners and hostages.
The agreement is clearly fragile. Previous attempts at a truce have utterly
failed, and expectations are high of an upsurge in fighting before the 15
February deadline, particularly around the strategic node of Debaltseve, a
railway hub held by thousands of Ukrainian troops besieged by the pro-

Russia rebel forces. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, demanded that
the surrounded Ukrainian forces lay down their arms.
The Germany chancellor, Angela Merkel, spoke of a glimmer of hope that
the agreement might take the edge off what has quickly become the worst
security crisis in Europe since the end of the cold war, with the potential to
assume much more dangerous dimensions.
As the deal was reached, the IMF announced a $17.5bn loan to Ukraine,
extending the lifeline keeping the country from bankruptcy.

If the early peacemaking measures take effect, they are to be followed by

more ambitious political moves aimed at an overall political settlement. By
the end of the year Ukraine should have a new constitution, the rebel-held
areas are to be granted decentralised special status and cross-border
links with Russia, local elections are to be held in the breakaway areas and
Kiev is slated to take control of the border with Russia.

The main points of the agreement

Ceasefire to begin at 00.00am local time on 15 February
Heavy weapons withdrawn in a two week period starting from 17 February
Amnesty for prisoners involved in fighting
Withdrawal of all foreign militias from Ukrainian territory and the disarmament of all illegal
groups
Lifting of restrictions in rebel areas of Ukraine
Decentralisation for rebel regions by the end of 2015
Ukrainian control of the border with Russia by the end of 2015
The participants also agreed to attend regular meetings to ensure the
fulfilment of the agreements, a Russian-distributed document said.
In European concessions to Putin, the Russian leader was told he would be
party to negotiations over the detail and impact of Ukraines free trade
agreement with the EU; a number of conditions have been attached to the
special rights to be granted to the pro-Russia territories; central
government funding of social and welfare benefits is to be restored to proRussia areas; and Germany and Francepromised to facilitate financial
transfers and repair the broken banking system.
Merkel and the French president, Franois Hollande, went to Minsk to meet
Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Petro Poroshenko, for what was seen as
a fateful summit following days of the most intensive diplomacy seen on
Ukraine since the crisis erupted a year ago. Failure, it was feared, would
have resulted in a major escalation of the conflict, with Poroshenko warning
he could impose martial law on the whole country.
It was worth it, said Merkel, capping one of the most frantic weeks of her
10-year chancellorship before dashing to Brussels for an EU summit. She
cautioned against over-optimism, however, and was guarded about whether
the 13-point peace agreement would be observed and implemented. We
have a glimmer of hope but no illusions, she said.
The negotiations appeared extremely tense and highly combustible with
simmering hostility between Putin on the one hand and Merkel and
Poroshenko on the other. At various points during the night, the talks looked
close to collapse, with Poroshenko leaving the negotiating table and talking

of being confronted with unacceptable conditions.

We have a very long night behind us, but we have managed to come to an
agreement, to a ceasefire and a comprehensive political settlement for the
Ukraine crisis, said Hollande.
A sticking point was whether the separatist leaders, also in Minsk but not
taking part directly in the summit, would sign off on the deal. Putin sought
to force Poroshenko to negotiate directly with the separatist leaders.
In the end the two main rebel leaders, from Donetsk and Luhansk, signed
the 13-point plan, which also included an annex on the detail of the
autonomy foreseen for their fiefdoms. Both Merkel and Hollande paid
tribute to Putin for pressing the recalcitrant separatists into signing.

Damag
ed buildings in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. Photograph: Vasily Maximov/AFP/Getty
Images

Speaking after the talks, the Donetsk rebel leader, Alexander

Zakharchenko, called the treaty a major victory for the Luhansk and
Donetsk peoples republics. The Luhansk leader, Igor Plotnitsky, said they
would give Ukraine a chance, so that the country changes its constitution
and its attitude.
The ceasefire is to come into force at 00.01am local time on Sunday
morning, following which heavy weapons on both sides are to be withdrawn
up to 140km (86 miles) from the frontlines, depending on their range and
calibre. The withdrawal will take place over a fortnight, and it and the
ceasefire will be monitored by the Organisation for Security and
Cooperation in Europe.
The more ambitious political aspects of the pact stipulate that Kiev is to
draft a new constitution by the end of the year, with a key element
entailing decentralisation and special status for the breakaway regions. An
eight-point annex to the accord lists elements of the special status,
including local control of police, court, and judicial systems and a regime of
crossborder cooperation between the eastern regions and Russia.
Moscow fiercely resisted Ukrainian and European demands for Kiev to
control the eastern border with Russia, arguing that it would lead to the
encirclement and eventual suppression of the secessionist rebellion. The
agreement says Ukraine will start to exercise control of the border once
new local elections are held in the east, but arrangements will only finalised
once the new constitution and the special status regime are in force.
There are certain to be sharp disputes on these arrangements in the
months ahead. Poroshenko promptly declared that Ukraine will always be a
unitary state and will never be federalised.
A separate document signed by the four leaders committed Putin to
respecting Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity, although clearly
last years Russian annexation of the Crimea peninsula will be ignored here.
France and Germany agreed to trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and
the EU on energy issues and Russian gas supplies, on the EU-Ukraine free
trade agreement concluded last year, and to joint monitoring of
negotiations over the peace pact.
Theres a real chance to turn things for the better, said Merkel. We
pledged to monitor the implementation. I assume that this will also be
necessary.
The conflict in east Ukraine has claimed at least 5,400 lives. Nine people

were reportedly killed and 35 wounded in east Ukraine on Thursday

morning.
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