"I welcome the signing of a framework agreement on the disengagement of forces in eastern Ukraine. This is a good start but all sides now need to meet their commitments so that a full, comprehensive and sustained ceasefire is realised. This is fundamental to any further progress towards peace in eastern Ukraine. The UK will work hard with all parties to help turn this into a reality," Johnson said as quoted by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Friday.
On Wednesday, spokeswoman for the Ukrainian envoy to the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, Darya Olifer, announced that the sides to the conflict in eastern Ukraine had signed a framework agreement on the withdrawal of forces at three locations along the line of contact in Donbass.
Kiev launched a special military operation in Ukraine’s southeast in April 2014, after local residents refused to recognize the new Ukrainian authorities, which came to power as a result of a coup.
In February 2015, a peace agreement was signed between Ukraine’s conflicting sides in the Belarusian capital, Minsk. Despite the fact that the deal stipulated a full ceasefire in Donbass, violations both on the part of Kiev forces and local militia have been reported. Kiev has also been reluctant to implement the political provisions of the deal, which was signed by members of the Trilateral Contact Group that includes representatives from Kiev, Donbass, Russia, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
