CGTN America
From left to right: – rebel leader of “People Republic of Lugansk” Igor Plotnitsky, OSCE envoy Heidi Tagliavini, former Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma make an official statement on the signing of a ceasefire agreement in Minsk, on September 5, 2014. Ukraine, Russia and pro-Russian insurgents opened ceasefire talks in Minsk in an attempt to stop nearly five months of war that have plunged Russian-Western relations into crisis. AFP PHOTO / VASILY MAXIMOV
Negotiators representing Russia, Ukraine, anti-government rebels and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe signed a ceasefire agreement in Minsk, Belarus. It called for a truce beginning at 6 pm local time Friday. CCTV America’s Daria Bondarchuk reports.
The participants of the talks in Minsk agreed on a plan which focused on a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine and efforts to get the government functioning again. Other points of the agreement include amnesty for all those who disarm and who did not commit serious crimes, corridors for refugees, and humanitarian aid access. An exchange of prisoners could start as early as Saturday, a move welcomed by Russia’s Ambassador to Ukraine.
