'Verbal agreement on reconciliation': Normandy Four leaders' reactions to Minsk deal

12.02.201510:24

The leaders of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine have agreed a deal to end fighting in eastern Ukraine, participants at the summit talks said on Thursday.

The deal reached after all-night negotiations in the Belarusian capital Minsk included a ceasefire that would come into effect on Feb. 15, followed by the withdrawal of heavy weapons.

The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany, and France did not sign their names to the document accepted in Minsk on Ukraine reconciliation but gave their word, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Thursday.

“No, but we confirmed its implementation verbally,” Steinmeier said when responding to a question whether the document has been signed.

Agreement is not a breakthrough, but could be a step from a spiral of military escalation towards political momentum, German Foreign Ministry said on Twitter.

The Minsk summit agreement offered hope for eastern Ukraine, German Chancellor Angela Merkel‘s spokesman said.

“After 17 hours, negotiations in Minsk have finished: ceasefire from Feb. 15 at zero hours, then withdrawal of heavy weapons. Therein lies hope,” Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Twitter.

Agreements reached offer a ‘glimmer of hope’ for solving the crisis in Ukraine, German media quoted Merkel as saying.

At the same time, Merkel says has ‘no illusion’ after Ukraine deal, ‘big hurdles’ remain, AFP reports.

“We have managed to agree on the main issues,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

The four leaders had committed to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to a joint declaration distributed by the Kremlin.

“The main thing which has been achieved is that from Saturday into Sunday there should be declared without any conditions at all, a general ceasefire,” Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko told journalists.

French President Francois Hollande said there was still much work to be done on theUkraine crisis, but the agreement was a real chance to ameliorate the situation.

“This is a relief for Europe and a hope for Ukraine,” France 24 television channel quotes Hollande as saying.