Ukraine and Russia Presidents Talk 'Cease Fire'

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Wednesday has offered an outline of a 14-step peace plan process designed to end the months long violence and political upheaval in Ukraine following a late night telephone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

The two leaders spoke Tuesday night and Poroshenko says the first step will be a complete “cease fire” in the eastern regions of the country that could begin within days.

“The plan will begin with my order for a unilateral cease-fire,” Poroshenko was quoted as saying by various news outlets. “Immediately after this, we need very quickly to get support for the peace plan … from all participants.”

The conversation and announced plan comes less than two days after Russia cut off gas supplies to Ukraine on Monday. Amid months of recent violence and regional tensions, Moscow and Kiev have been in a battle over outstanding payment for Russian gas owed by the Ukrainian government. Energy resources, especially over natural gas pipelines, are seen as a key sticking point in the long-term prospects for better relations between the two countries that share a long and complicated history.

As Agence France-Presse reports:

On the proposed peace agreement now on the offer, Reuters reports the deal would include “amnesty for separatist fighters who lay down arms, and tighter controls over Ukraine’s border with Russia.”

Meanwhile, in the city of Donetsk on Wednesday, thousands of Ukrainians marched against the military aggression of the Kiev-controlled Ukraine Army in recent weeks and once again declared their autonomy and independence.

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