Russia called for an immediate ceasefire in southeastern Ukraine (Donbas) at the Minsk talks, but in the end it was agreed for it to come into force on February 15, at the request of independence fighters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
The Russian side at the Minsk talks on Ukrainian reconciliation, held on Wednesday and early Thursday, was "a supporter" of an immediate ceasefire, which ended up being difficult to agree upon, Peskov told the Russian Kommersant newspaper.
In the end, "at the request of the [Donetsk and Luhansk] militia" the parties at the Minsk talks decided that the ceasefire between Kiev forces and independence fighters would come into force at midnight, February 15, Peskov explained.