UN hopes genuine cease-fire appears in Ukraine from Minsk deal

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Thursday urged all parties to the conflict in eastern Ukraine to fulfill their commitments made at peace talks in Minsk, Belarus, and ensure that a genuine and lasting cease-fire will take effect on Feb. 15 as agreed.

In a statement released by Ban's spokesperson, Ban commended efforts made by leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany to bring the conflict to an end, which has resulted in the signing of a package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk accords of September 2014.

"In that regard, the Secretary-General expects that the commitments which have been made in Minsk will be respected by the parties. He urges the parties concerned to ensure that a genuine and lasting cease-fire will commence on 15 February as agreed, paving the way for a broader political settlement of the conflict, based on the Minsk accords," said the statement.

Ban also said the UN stands ready to assist "in any way deemed helpful," and promised that the UN will continue to monitor the human rights situation and deliver humanitarian support to those in need.

Earlier on Thursday, the leaders of the four countries, namely Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced a peace deal following 14-hour marathon talks in Minsk. The deal envisages a ceasefire between Ukrainian forces and independence-seeking insurgents starting Sunday, followed by the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the front line and constitutional reform to give eastern Ukraine more autonomy.

The summit of peace talks that began Wednesday has been seen as the high point of intensive muliti-lateral efforts aimed at finding a way out of the crisis in Ukriane, where more than 5,300 people have been killed since April last year.

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