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Poroshenko says ready to carry out full exchange of prisoners of war Saturday

President Petro Poroshenko says Ukraine is ready for "unprecedented steps" on decentralization in some districts of Donbass in the country's east

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko ITAR-TASS/Nikolai Lazarenko

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko

© ITAR-TASS/Nikolai Lazarenko

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Participants of Contact Group on Ukraine sign 12-point plan of peace settlement in Ukraine

NEWPORT, Septmebr 05. /ITAR-TASS/. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says he is ready to carry out full exchange of prisoners of war on Saturday, September 6. Poroshenko has pledged to amnesty all people covered by the peace plan for Ukraine’s south-east.

Ukraine is ready for "unprecedented steps" on decentralization in some districts of Donbass in the country's east, Poroshenko said on Friday. "Starting from tomorrow, we are ready for unprecedented steps aimed to decentralize power in some districts of Donetsk and Luhansk, to provide them with economic freedom, to guarantee the right to speak any language in that territory and to adhere to their cultural traditions," he said.

“A ceasefire is the most significant. A lengthy ceasefire is of top importance so that we can continue a political dialogue that may bring peace and stability to Donbass,” Poroshenko said in his comments on the 12-point protocol on peace settlement signed by the trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine in the Belarusian capital Minsk on Friday.

“We are going to create a roadmap on the basis of this document," he said. The plan “stems from a lengthy conversation” with Russian President Vladimir Putin and helps deescalate the crisis, the Ukrainian president said, underscoring that along with this the document "respects Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity".

Ukrainian army ready to cease fire

The Ukrainian army is ready to obey Poroshenko’s order to cease fire in Eastern Ukraine, Andriy Lysenko, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Council for National Defense and Security, told a briefing in Kiev on Friday.

“The forces that are taking part in the security operation are ready to implement this order,” Lysenko said, noting, however, the Ukrainian army would not change the dislocation of its units. “The ceasefire will make it possible to exchange prisoners and then continue the peace talks,” Lysenko said.

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Ukraine crisis Ukraine Pyotr Poroshenko

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