In Minsk, after a negotiating marathon that lasted over 15 hours, the Russian president Vladimir Putin he announced that "agreements on the main points" had been reached to reach a reconciliation in southeast Ukraine. The agreement provides for the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the Donbass region and a cease-fire which will start at midnight between 14 and 15 February (22 pm in Italy). In addition to the Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, the meeting was also attended by German chancellor Angela Merkel and the number one of the Elysée, François Hollande.
The withdrawal of heavy weapons must begin no later than the second day following the entry into force of the truce and must be completed within 14 days, specifies the document signed in Minsk, which contains a package of measures to fully implement the truce signed in September also in the Belarusian capital.
Putin reiterated that "for a political solution" of the conflict in Donbass it is necessary "a constitutional reform in Ukraine in which the rights of people living in the territories of Donbass should be enshrined". Words to which Poroshneko he replied emphasizing that the agreements signed in Minsk do not provide for any autonomy for areas under the control of separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.
Despite the result obtained today, Putin specified that "negotiations between Kiev and Eastern Ukraine are at a standstill" and for this reason the leader of the Kremlin has asked the parties to "stop the bloodbath and launch a real process of peace as soon as possible".
The Russian President then explained that he had decided with Poroshenko to appoint military experts to assess the situation and above all the position of the parties on the Debaltsevo front. According to Putin, the delay in the negotiations is due to the fact that the Kiev authorities have continued to refuse to have direct contact with the pro-Russian representatives of the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.
What was reached in Minsk is an "overall political solution", which represents an "important hope", even if "not everything has been done", he commented Holland.
Also for Merkel the agreement is “a sign of hope”, as “the overall implementation of the Minsk agreements” has been agreed, but “naturally concrete steps must now be taken. And there are still big hurdles ahead of us." The chancellor said it was Putin who "convinced" the pro-Russian separatists to a truce. “We are under no illusions, we understand that a lot of work needs to be done. But there is a real chance to improve the situation,” she added.
The German Foreign Minister is less diplomatic, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, according to which the signed truce "is not a global solution and even less a turning point": it is rather "a step forward that takes us away from a spiral of military escalations", but which must be welcomed "without euphoria, because it was a difficult birth”.
Even the Italian premier Matteo Renzi he defined the result achieved in Belarus as "an important step forward": "Now we are waiting for what François and Angela tell us: from what we have read it is an excellent result", he added.
Renzi is in Brussels, where today at 15 pm (and not at 13 pm as initially indicated) the European Council with the heads of state and government of the whole Union. At the center of the debate, the situation in Ukraine and the Greek crisis.
Meanwhile, the news arriving from Belarus pleases the markets: at the end of the morning Business Square rises by 2,19%, while Frankfurt earn 1,42%, London 0,48%, Paris 0,78%, Athens 3,6% and Madrid + 1,58%.
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At the end of the morning the news was released according to which a column of 50 Russian tanks and other military assets allegedly entered Ukraine from the southeast border. The passage would have taken place during the night, just as the Minsk negotiations were underway. This was reported by the spokesman of the Ukrainian armed forces, Andrii Lisenko, quoted by the Ukrinform agency.
