UNSC calls on warring parties in Ukraine to stop fighting
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has called on warring sides in eastern Ukraine to cease fighting and implement a European-brokered peace deal as the situation swiftly deteriorates.
The UNSC made the call on Tuesday, following a meeting during which a Russian-drafted resolution endorsing the new ceasefire agreement on Ukraine was unanimously approved by the 15-member council.
The resolution endorses the peace deal which was reached following marathon talks held on February 11 and 12 by the leaders of Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia, and came into effect on February 14.
The council expressed "its full respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine" and its "grave concern at the tragic events and violence in eastern regions of Ukraine."
"Since the very start of the crisis Russia has actively called for a peaceful settlement through inclusive, transparent dialogue between the sides in the internal Ukrainian conflict," Russia’s UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the council. "We will adhere to this fundamental approach in the future also."
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Kiev to permit Ukrainian soldiers who are surrounded by pro-Russia forces in the town of Debaltseve to lay down their arms.
"I hope that the Ukrainian authorities are not going to prevent the Ukrainian soldiers from laying down their weapons," Putin said at a press conference in Hungarian capital Budapest.
Putin went on to say that he hoped Ukraine would refrain from legal action against its surrendered troops.
The Russian president added that the Ukrainian crisis could not be solved through “military means".
Pro-Russia forces said on Tuesday they had taken control of 80 percent of the eastern city of Debaltseve.
The pro-Russians say that because Debaltseve is inside their territory it should not be included in the ceasefire agreement.
Pro-Russia forces and Kiev troops have been battling for weeks over Debaltseve, which connects Donetsk and Luhansk, the strongholds of the pro-Russians in eastern Ukraine.
Nearly 5,700 people have been killed and close to a million have been displaced since the armed conflict began in eastern Ukraine in April 2014.
SRK/MHB/AS
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