Russia, Ukraine agree on procedure for pulling back heavy weapons
A Russian-backed separatist’s tank was placed in a fortified position at the checkpoint north of Luhansk earlier this year. Germany’s foreign minister says there hasn’t yet been a breakthrough in efforts to achieve a peace accord for eastern Ukraine. (Mstyslav Chernov/Associated Press)
Germany’s Foreign Minister says Russia and Ukraine have agreed on a procedure for the withdrawal of heavy weapons in Eastern Ukraine.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier said his counterparts from Russia and Ukraine agreed that heavy arms should be pulled back 15 kilometres from a demarcation line defined in the Minsk agreement of last year.
Steinmeier said the agreement reached after talks in Berlin late Wednesday represented progress, but “no breakthrough” in efforts to achieve a peace accord for Eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists have battled Kyiv’s troops for months.
