“President Petro Poroshenko had a phone conversation with U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden. The parties discussed the elements of the ‘road map’ on the implementation of the Minsk agreements for the de-occupation of Donbas. Petro Poroshenko and Joseph Biden agreed that sanctions against Russia must be continued,” the statement read.
Kiev launched a military operation in Ukraine’s southeast in April 2014, after local residents refused to recognize the new Ukrainian authorities, which came to power as a result of what many considered to be a coup.
In February 2015, a peace agreement, which was agreed by the Normandy Four countries, namely Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany, was signed between Ukraine’s conflicting sides in the Belarusian capital of Minsk.
Key points of the Minsk agreements include a ceasefire, heavy weapons withdrawal from the line of contact in eastern Ukraine, constitutional reforms, including a decentralization of power in the country, and granting a special status to the Donbas region.
