Updated on 05:23 p.m. Moscow Time
MINSK, August 5 (RIA Novosti) – Members of the Contact Group on Ukrainian reconciliation have signed a deal declaring a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine starting from 6:00 p.m. Moscow time (14:00 GMT), the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) said Friday.
“In Minsk, representatives of Ukraine, the DPR and the LPR [Luhansk People’s Republic] have signed a protocol to cease hostilities at 18:00 Friday,” DPR said in its official Twitter.
An informed source told RIA Novosti earlier that the sides were “moving towards signing” the agreement during the meeting in Minsk, involving the representatives of Russia, the Kiev government, eastern Ukrainian independence supporters and the Organization for Secuirty and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
On Wednesday, the presidents of Russia and Ukraine, Vladimir Putin and Petro Poroshenko, in a phone conversation discussed the first steps to be taken to bring an end to the bloodshed in southeastern Ukraine.
Following the conversation with his counterpart, President Putin laid out a seven-point plan that could help find a solution. The plan called on Kiev to withdraw troops from southeastern regions of the country and militia to cease military advances. The plan also includes proposals for an international monitoring force, the establishment of a humanitarian corridor, a ban on the use of combat aircraft over urban areas, an exchange of prisoners in an “all for all” formula and direct repair-crew access to destroyed infrastructure in the war-ravaged areas.
