Ukraine hopes for political solution to crisis after Minsk deal

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Friday voiced his hope that the new peace agreement reached in Minsk will pave the way for a political settlement of the crisis in his country's east.

"The agreement gives a hope that the events in Donbass (eastern Ukraine) will turn from the hot-phase crisis into a state of political settlement," Poroshenko told reporters during a visit to a military training center.

Although expectations for peace are high, the prospects of full implementation of the ceasefire deal are still fragile, Poroshenko noted.

"There is no firm belief that all conditions for peace prescribed in the agreement would be fully observed," said the Ukrainian leader.

Poroshenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande reached an agreement Thursday in Minsk, capital of Belarus.

The deal calls for a ceasefire from Feb. 15 and withdrawal of heavy weapons from the frontline, and also covers election timelines, border control and prisoner exchange.

If all parties involved in the confrontation in eastern Ukraine implement the Minsk agreement effectively and comprehensively, it could end the 10-month-old conflict, which has claimed more than 5,300 lives. Endi