Kremlin says Russia agreed on Ukraine peace moves, not ceasefire

The Kremlin said on Sept. 3 President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko had agreed on steps towards peace in eastern Ukraine but a ceasefire had not been agreed between Moscow and Kiev because Russia is not a party to the conflict.

Poroshenko's press office said in a statement that Moscow and Kiev had agreed on a "permanent ceasefire" in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine.

Russian news agency RIA quoted Dmitry Peskov, Putin's press secretary, as saying: "Putin and Poroshenko really discussed the steps that would contribute to a ceasefire between the militia and the Ukrainian forces. Russia cannot physically agree to a ceasefire because it is not a party to the conflict."

Earlier Poroshenko's press office issued a statement saying: "As a result of the conversation (between the Ukrainian president and Putin)  agreement was reached on a permanent ceasefire in the Donbass.

"Mutual understanding was achieved concerning the steps which will enable the establishment of peace," it added.

Earlier, Putin's spokesman was quoted in Moscow by Interfax news agency as saying the Russian leader and Poroshenko had largely agreed in their telephone conversation on what needed to be done to resolve Ukraine's six-month-old crisis.

Interfax quoted a leading separatist in Donetsk, the biggest city of the Donbass, as saying the pro-Russian rebels were ready to halt their military operations if Kiev also accepted a ceasefire.

"If the Ukrainian side observes its promises on a ceasefire, we are ready for a political resolution of the process," said Miroslav Rudenko, a deputy in the local assembly of the self-proclaimed "Donetsk people's republic."

According to the United Nations, the war has...