US Give Cautious Welcome to Ukraine Ceasefire Deal

The US administration on Thursday welcomed with guarded optimism the latest Ukraine ceasefire agreement  and called for its "full and unambiguous implementation".

"The agreement represents a potentially significant step toward a peaceful resolution of the conflict and the restoration of Ukraine's sovereignty consistent with the Minsk agreements from last September," the White House said in a statement.  

It also called on Moscow to remove heavy weapons from eastern Ukraine and end its support for the pro-Russian separatists.

The agreement envisages a truce from 15 February and reaffirms some commitments from a failed September attempt to end the 10-month conflict in eastern Ukraine that has claimed the lives of more than 5,000 people, according to UN data.

According to the White House, "the true test" of the new agreement reached after all-night talks in Belarus' capital Minsk "will be in its full and unambiguous implementation, including the durable end of hostilities and the restoration of Ukrainian control over its border with Russia."