NEWSLINK: Russia’s Putin calls for long-term Ukraine ceasefire, peace talks

[“Russia’s Putin calls for long-term Ukraine ceasefire, peace talks” – Reuters – Maria Tsvetkova
June 27, 2014]

Reuters covers the expiration for Ukraine’s eastern region ceasefire and Russian calls for an extension.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday a long-term ceasefire was needed in Ukraine to allow talks between the Kiev government and representatives of eastern regions where rebels are waging an armed insurgency.

Putin spoke several hours before a ceasefire announced by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was due to expire and his remarks appeared intended to increase pressure on him to extend it.

… Kiev, which blames its former Soviet master Moscow for fanning the violence, has warned that the ceasefire due to expire at 10 p.m. (1900 GMT) may not be extended without meaningful developments in peace talks.

There have been multiple breaches of the ceasefire, including the killing of nine soldiers when pro-Russia rebels shot down a Ukrainian helicopter on Tuesday.

Ukraine indicates that almost 150 Ukrainian servicemen have been killed by rebels, including 18 in the past week during the would-be ceasefire.

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