Updated on 09:52 p.m. Moscow Time
KIEV, September 5 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine hopes that the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, declared Friday, will last for a long period, the Ukrainian president’s special envoy on eastern Ukraine, Iryna Herashchenko, said.
“It is important to put into practice everything that was agreed today. We are now beginning difficult work to make it [ceasefire] last long,” she said during a Ukraina TV broadcast.
The envoy expressed hope that the exchange of prisoners, also agreed in Minsk Friday, will be completed within a week.
All participants of Friday’s meeting on Ukrainian reconciliation in Minsk demonstrated their commitment to peace, according to Ukraine’s ex-president Leonid Kuchma, who took part in the talks.
“Atmosphere here shows that everyone is indeed speaking the same language. Everyone wants to restore peace in the region. I think we will certainly reach it. The meeting in Minsk was a key event and a first step, but a lot of work remains to be done,” Kuchma said.
“We have no doubts about the prisoner swap. This is going to be a positive sign, after which many will sigh with relief. The document signed today will serve as a guarantee for our future work,” the former leader of Ukraine said.
On Friday, members of the Contact Group on Ukrainian reconciliation had a meeting in the Belarusian capital of Minsk, during which they agreed on a ceasefire, exchange of prisoners and humanitarian aid. The ceasefire agreement came into force at 6 p.m. local time (15:00 GMT).
The Ukrainian military and self-proclaimed people’s republics of Luhansk and Donetsk independence supporters reported that their troops have halted all military actions.
The future status of the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk was not discussed at the meeting, according to Igor Plotnitsky, the prime minister of the Luhansk People’s Republic. The self-proclaimed states still intend to secede from Ukraine, Plotnitsky added.
Since the conflict in southeastern Ukraine significantly deteriorated in mid-April, over 2,500 people have died and more than 6,000 have been wounded in the fighting, the UN reported last week.
Ukraine’s southeastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk are currently in a state of humanitarian catastrophe, with citizens struggling without water and electricity.
