British, French defense chiefs welcome Minsk ceasefire agreements

British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian on Thursday welcomed the Minsk ceasefire agreement which aims to bring peace to Ukraine, urging for an end to the conflict on the ground.

"Both Ministers welcomed ceasefire agreement made in peace talks overnight in Minsk aiming to end the conflict in Ukraine, stating that while details are at an early stage all parties want to see an end to the conflict on the ground in Ukraine," MoD said in a statement.

French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin reached an agreement of ceasfire in eastern Ukraine on Thursday after 16 hours of talks in Minsk, capital of Belarus.

The accord included a ceasefire from Feb. 15, clear timelines for elections in eastern Ukraine, border control and prisoner exchange.

The two defense chiefs discussed how Britain and France can co-operate across a range of issues during a visit by Le Drian in London on Thursday, British Ministry of Defense (MoD) said.

They discussed the situation in Ukraine and how the two countries could work together to combat international terrorism during Le Drian's first political visit since the Paris terrorist attacks last month.

Describing Britain and France as "natural partners" for defense cooperation, Fallon said the two countries enjoy a "successful and enduring" defense relationship.

"It is vital that like-minded countries such as ours work together to counter the varied common security challenges that we face," he said.

The two defense chiefs have been "working closely together within NATO, EU and meeting regularly," and both countries remain on track to deliver a British-Franco Combined Expeditionary Force, according to the MoD. Enditem