DONETSK (Sputnik) – The leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko, said Tuesday he hopes the conflict in eastern Ukraine would conclude by the end of 2016.
“I hope this year, but this isn’t a fact. We’re trying to solve [the crisis] peacefully,” Zakharchenko said.
The conflict in Donbass, Ukraine's eastern territory, erupted in spring 2014 when the residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk Regions rejected the legitimacy of the new government in Kiev, which had come to power after the Maidan coup d'etat and the ouster of democratically elected President Viktor Yanukovych.
The Minsk deal on Ukraine's reconciliation was struck in February 2015 by Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France and later signed by Kiev and the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. Both warring parties have repeatedly accused each other of violating the truce despite agreeing to the ceasefire deal.
