He called the ceasefire and the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the line of contact good news but not a breakthrough. It finally seems that "we have entered a period of relative calm and we will soon be able to speak about a political solution, not just a ceasefire," Steinmeier added.
The DPR and the LPR announced that they had started to pull back weapons last week, while Kiev forces initially refused to follow suit citing the unstable ceasefire regime in the area. Ukrainian authorities announced that Kiev had started the pullout on Thursday and would continue the withdrawal of heavy arms on Friday.
Under the Minsk peace accord worked out by the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France, the sides to the Ukrainian conflict committed to implement a ceasefire on February 15 and withdraw heavy weaponry from the line of contact.
