Off the wire
• UN chief to attend White House summit on countering violent extremism  • Spanish stock market rises 0.08 pct, closes at 10,698 points  • Spanish treasury places over 4.4 bln euros on market  • Roundup: South African ruling party urges MPs to focus on real issues  • Roundup: Italy committed to strong diplomatic action on Libya: Renzi  • Urgent: UN Security Council voices grave concern over ongoing fighting in eastern Ukraine  • IOC Evaluation Commission completes closed-door meetings with Almaty 2022  • Fate of foreigners owning land in Namibia to be announced soon  • Police raid weapons depot in Bahrain, seize homemade bombs  • French gov't to pass controversial reform bill without parliament approval  
You are here: 　 Home

1st LD Writethru: UN Security Council voices grave concern over ongoing fighting in eastern Ukraine

Xinhua, February 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

The UN Security Council on Tuesday voiced grave concern over the continued fighting in and around Debaltseve, Ukraine, which has resulted in numerous civilian casualties.

"The members of the Security Council regretted that, despite the announcement of a ceasefire on 15 February, violence has continued in recent days in some parts of eastern Ukraine," the 15- nation UN body said in a press statement.

"The members of the Security Council called on all parties to immediately cease hostilities and abide by commitments agreed in Minsk, including facilitating access for the OSCE (the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) Special Monitoring Mission to monitor and verify compliance with the Minsk Agreements," the statement said.

"The members of the Security Council further called on all parties to treat detained individuals humanely," it added.

The council released the press statement just before its meeting on Ukraine at 15:00 EST on Tuesday, which is held at the request of Russia.

Negotiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, the peace deal, known as the Minsk agreement, envisages a ceasefire from Feb. 15 and withdrawal of heavy weapons from the frontline, and also covers election timelines, border control and prisoner exchange.

Some 8,000 Ukrainian troops had reportedly been encircled by independence-seeking insurgents in Debaltseve, as the conflict that broke out in Ukraine's east in April last year has intensified since mid-January. Endite