Both sides of Ukraine conflict respecting new ceasefire
The Ukrainian government and pro-Russia forces fighting for greater autonomy have been both respecting a new ceasefire agreement between the two conflicting sides.
The warring sides issued separate statements on Thursday, both confirming that the latest ceasefire deal signed on August 26 in the Belorussian capital, Minsk, was still in effect.
On one side of the warfront, the pro-Russia forces commander, Eduard Basurin, stated on the forces’ official news site that there were "no violations after midnight (0900 GMT)."
On the other side of the conflict, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said the September 1 school year truce "was holding as of 12:05 pm (0905 GMT)."
Prior to this, a shaky ceasefire between the two sides, which had been signed in April, was violated on a regular basis by both sides, prompting the peace forces of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), who were monitoring the ceasefire, to describe the situation in the eastern conflict zone as "fighting that approached a full-scale war."
A recent surge in fighting in eastern Ukraine had raised international concerns that the 12-point Minsk peace deal that was engineered by Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France in Minsk in February 2015 was on the verge of collapse.
Meanwhile, French President Francois Hollande and his German counterpart Angela Merkel issued a joint statement on Thursday, approving the recent ceasefire deal brokered by the trilateral contact group consisting of Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE.
In their joint statement, the two leaders expressed hope that the latest ceasefire deal would pave the way for a permanent stop to the two-year fighting that has left more than 9,550 people dead.
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