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Ukraine peace roadmap agreed, but West sceptical

Ceasefire is to take effect at midnight Kiev time on Sunday

Afp February 13, 2015

A picture taken and released by Ukrainian Presidential Press service shows from left to right : President Alexander Lukashenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, France's President Francois Hollande and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko posing for a family photo at the presidential residence in Minsk, on February 11, 2015, during a meeting aimed at ending 10 months of fighting in Ukraine. PHOTO: AFP

KIEV: A new roadmap aimed at ending the 10-month war between Ukraine and pro-Moscow rebels was agreed in Belarus on Thursday, but Western leaders warned much needed to be done before peace was achieved.

Russian President Vladimir Putin emerged from the marathon summit in the Belarussian capital Minsk, saying he, Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko backed the deal.

A ceasefire is to take effect at midnight Kiev time on Sunday and heavy weapons are to be withdrawn from the frontlines of the conflict, which has already killed at least 5,300 people and driven a million people from their homes.

French President Hollande, described the deal as “a comprehensive political solution”, while Merkel spoke only of a “glimmer of hope”.

“I have no illusions. We have no illusions,” she said, adding that “much work” remained.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 13^th, 2015.