Ukraine Cease-Fire Deal is Reported

On Tuesday night, negotiators in Minsk discussed a cease-fire deal for Ukraine. The Ukraine cease-fire deal is scheduled to be made official on Wednesday. Leaders of France, Germany, Russia, Ukraine will sign the deal.

Officials working on the agreement say the original reports of the deal were published too soon, the story still premature. These contradictory reports have added tension to the negotiations. European leaders are trying hard to keep the solution to the crisis peaceful, however Obama was recently taking serious consideration to send arms to help aid the with Russian rebels. Even just this past week, Russia continued to deny their presence in the Ukraine.

The Prime Minister of Spain met in Kiev to discuss the conflict in Ukraine. He said he believed this negotiation would be the last chance to call cease-fire in Ukraine peacefully. In the meeting, he shared the news that there had been an attack on the city of Kramatorsk, a city outside of the war zone. More than 15 people were killed and over 60 were wounded.

Earlier today, Obama reached out to Putin, President of Russia, urging to find a solution to this conflict. He also warned Putin that the U.S. would go in to support Ukraine if no agreement was made.

Ukraine insisted that for a deal to be made fighting would need to stop and warfare weapons would need to be removed. It was unclear whether the world leaders would all attend the negotiations.

Mr. Poroshenko, the President of Ukraine, agrees with Obama that there needs to be a cease-fire and peaceful agreement to solve the crisis. He also said that Obama gave his sympathy to the Ukrainians who lost their lives in the recent Russian attack.

Part of the agreement was Russia’s allowance of monitoring the removal of weapons from war-torn area. This step will help speed up the process of eliminating all Russian fighting within the country.

While Russian rebels to continue to press assault on the railway hub of Debaltseve, the wait for Wednesday’s summit is becoming more and more tense. In recent weeks the fighting has rapidly increased on both sides in a desperate attempt to make territorial process before an agreement for a Ukraine cease-fire deal is made.

The original report from Tass news agency said the agreement had already been made however, sources have denied their claim saying no agreement has been formulated quite yet. The West is somewhat cynical to make a deal, suspecting the fighting will become even more brutal if the agreement is signed until military weapons are structurally removed by international powers.

Angela Merkel, the main negotiator with Putin, has been traveling to speak to leaders in Germany, Russia, and the U.S. in order to formulate a deal the will be successful. She has been clear about her lack of faith in Putin’s ability to come through with a deal. She has stated that she think a resolution is unlikely because of Putin’s history with negotiations.

The West may be primarily concerned with the bloodshed, however Ukraine is fearful of their future once the deal is made; what their relationship with Russia will entail in the future. The cease-fire deal is scheduled to be made official on Wednesday.

Written by Audrey Madden

Sources:

NY Times

Reuters

EuroNews

Photo by World Economic Forum – License