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![A pro-Russian fighter holds a boy on his hands after taking an oath in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine Saturday, June 21, 2014, with a statue of Soviet Union founder Vladimir Lenin on the right [AP]](http://thebricspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/AP863901291529.jpg)
A pro-Russian fighter holds a boy on his hands after taking an oath in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine Saturday, June 21, 2014, with a statue of Soviet Union founder Vladimir Lenin on the right [AP]
“The opportunity that opens up with the end of hostilities should be used to start constructive negotiations and to reach a political compromise between the parties to the conflict in southeast Ukraine,” Putin was quoted by a Kremlin statement after Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko ordered his forces to cease fire Friday and halt military operations for a week.
He, however, warned that the peace plan “will not be viable and realistic without practical steps towards negotiations.”
The opportunity created by the ceasefire must be used for constructive negotiations and political compromises of all parties in the eastern Ukraine, Putin said.
Ukrainian President on Friday unveiled a plan aiming at peacefully resolving the conflict in eastern regions, offering unilateral ceasefire and calling on the rebels to lay down weapons and start peace talks with the government in Kiev.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also welcomed the peace plan later Friday.
Dozens of pro-Russian armed militiamen gathered on Lenin square in Donetsk on Saturday to take the oath of allegiance to the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic.
Putin had last week urged for a national dialogue without delay even as authorities released figures that revealed nearly 19,000 refugees have fled from Ukraine to Russia.
Putin also held phone conversations with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande to discuss the failure of talks on settling the Ukrainian debt for Russian gas supplies and its possible consequences for Europe’s economy and energy security.
TBP and Agencies
