World Leaders Gather in Minsk for Ukraine Peace Talks
Various heads of state gathered in Minsk, Belarus to try and reach some kind of an agreement that would halt the continuing fighting in eastern Ukraine.
Reuters reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko came together in Germany in an effort to reach a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. All four leaders came together privately for a short time before entering the formal negotiations with the rest of their diplomatic teams.
Reuters reports that one part of the talks resulted in an agreement to sign a document that pledges support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty.
A Russian diplomat told Reuters that he believe there was a 70 percent chance of the parties coming to an agreement.
The New York Times says that a deal would involve a ceasefire and the creation of a demilitarized zone. The hardest part of that negotiating is deciding where the demilitarized zone will be. The pro-Russian separatists have made respectable gains in recent weeks.
Even as the talks began, the pro-Russian fighters threatened the crucial city of Debaltseve, which lies at the juncture of rail and road links between rebel controlled territory in the north and south. Control of Debaltseve would give the rebels an uninterrupted, straight line to defend and large territorital gains.
Another issue would be control of the border with Russia. Ukraine is demanding control of the border, but Russia has balked at that idea.
The United States and NATO claim that regular Russian troops are fighting in eastern Ukraine and that Russia regularly brings supplies like advanced weaponry into Ukraine. For example, it is thought that Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 was shot down by a Buk, which is a Russian anti-air missile system.
