MOSCOW, August 21 (RIA Novosti) – The ceasefire is possible in eastern Ukraine, but it should be based on Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s peace plan, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine said Thursday.
“We expect the [August 26] meeting in Minsk to produce results, and the Ukrainian president’s peace plan remains viable. If the terrorists agree to this plan, then this war will be over even before the meeting,” spokesman Andriy Lysenko said.
Earlier in the day, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov stressed the need for the parties to the Ukrainian conflict to announce a ceasefire in the war-torn eastern regions in order to ensure safe delivery of Russian humanitarian aid.
Since mid-April, Ukrainian authorities have been conducting a special military operation against independence supporters in eastern regions of the country. The fighting involved armored vehicles, heavy artillery and attack aviation and claimed hundrends civilian lives.
In June, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko unveiled a 15-point peace plan to de-escalate the country’s conflict, which includes a ceasefire.
On August 26, Minsk will host a meeting between Ukraine, the European Union, the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia. According to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s press service, the meeting will address a number of urgent political and economic issues, the stabilization of the situation in eastern Ukraine.
