RIA Novosti: Donetsk, Luhansk Leaders Say Ready to Order Ceasefire Friday If Peace Plan Agreed

MOSCOW, September 4 (RIA Novosti) – The leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics in eastern Ukraine said in a joint statement Thursday they were ready to order ceasefire on Friday afternoon if a peace plan is signed during negotiations in Minsk.

“We are ready to order ceasefire at 3:00 p.m. Moscow time [11:00 GMT] if an agreement is reached and the Ukrainian representatives sign a plan of political settlement to the conflict,” reads the joint statement by DPR leader Alexander Zakharchenko and LPR leader Igor Plotnitsky.

The two leaders also said they “submit their proposals about the ceasefire regime, offering details about guarantees of compliance with this regime, to the Contact Group in Minsk tomorrow.”

Also during the Contact Group meeting on September 5, Russia will be ready to expand on the provisions of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plan for the Ukrainian crisis settlement. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow would be open to suggestions concerning the plan.

The seven-point plan for the settlement of the crisis in Ukraine was suggested by Putin on Wednesday, calling on Kiev to withdraw troops from the southeast of the country and urging militia to cease military advances.