Ukraine, Russia agree to restart peace process

Ukraine, Russia agree to restart peace process

Ukraine and Russia reportedly agreed to restart the peace process in discussions in Paris on Monday, though they made little progress on ending hostilities in the Donbass region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich PutinUkraine, Russia agree to restart peace process Trump, Russian foreign minister to meet Tuesday Impeachment, Ukraine, Syria and warheads color Washington visit by top Russian diplomat MORE met for the first time and decided to revive peace discussions on the conflict in eastern Ukraine, the Associated Press reported. The talks involve the previously stalled 2015 peace agreement between Ukrainian troops and Russia-backed separatists. 

But the leaders did not come to a conclusion on an ultimate compromise for the five-year war that has left at least 14,000 dead. 

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The two settled on exchanging all prisoners but did not determine a timeline on local elections or who controls the borders where rebels reside. The presidents decided to return in four months with newly proposed solutions, according to the AP.

Putin reportedly said there is not an option beyond the 2015 deal and said Ukraine should give autonomy to rebel-controlled regions and grant amnesty to the rebels. He said the agreement also involved pulling troops back in other areas of the east, clearing mines and get rid of fortifications. 

“I would very much like our people to get back home and spend the New Year’s holidays with their families,” Zelensky said, according to the AP.

The meeting was mediated by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel MacronEmmanuel Jean-Michel MacronUkraine, Russia agree to restart peace process Hillicon Valley: Amazon alleges Trump interfered in Pentagon contract to hurt Bezos | Federal council warns Trump of cyber threats to infrastructure | China to remove foreign technology from government offices Trump tops list of most tweeted about politicians in 2019 MORE, who called the talks “fruitful.”

“There are disagreements, especially on timeline and next steps. We had a very long discussion on this,” Macron said at a news conference Monday, according to the AP.

Macron and Merkel also reportedly said they would increase the monitoring by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, an intergovernmental organization, to 24 hours a day, up from 12.