“In sum, the agreement will need the continued attention of all its patrons, notably Germany and France, continued pressure on all sides to implement, and continuous participation of Russia in the support of the implementation process,” Josef Janning, senior policy fellow with European Council on Foreign Relations told Sputnik.
The deal worked out Thursday after over 15 hours of negotiations outlines 13 points aiming to end the military confrontation between Kiev forces and independence supporters in eastern Ukraine.
Some stress that the deal is very much like the accords signed in September, but Janning notes that the agreement “has more detail and timelines which will allow a fast and unambiguous assessment whether the parties are in compliance with the terms,” which sets a framework for a return to a negotiated settlement of the crisis.
Under the deal, both sides take on obligations they have to fulfil. The experts point out that the adoption of a new constitution providing for decentralization is of great importance.
Putin, Hollande, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met for Ukrainian reconciliation talks in Minsk on Wednesday evening. The negotiations continued long into Thursday.
The negotiations took place amid a sharp deterioration in the situation in Donbas. Despite a ceasefire agreement reached by the warring sides in September 2014 in Minsk, clashes continue in conflict-torn eastern Ukraine.
