MOSCOW, October 15 (RIA Novosti) - Russia may act as a guarantor of a truce between Kiev and the southeast of Ukraine, Russian presidential administration chief Sergei Ivanov said Wednesday.
"If the final agreements are reached, Russia may in some form act as a guarantor. Such a practice exists in international relations," Ivanov said in an interview with the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper.
The head of the presidential administration did not exclude the possibility that the hostilities in Ukraine may resume, but said he hoped for the "common sense of the Kiev leadership."
According to Ivanov, as of today, Russia supports the conflict's prompt resolution based on Russian President Vladimir Putin's peace plan, which "made it possible to stop an open confrontation."
The military operation to suppress independence supporters in eastern Ukraine was initiated by Kiev in mid-April. With the mediation of Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Ukrainian authorities and representatives of the country's east agreed to a ceasefire on September 5.
The ceasefire agreements are partially based on Putin's peace plan announced in early September. The seven-point plan to stabilize the situation in eastern Ukraine includes ceasing military advances, the withdrawal of armed forces, a prisoner exchange, provision of humanitarian aid and international monitoring.
