MINSK, February 12. /TASS/. The participants of the so-called Normandy format talks on settlement of the conflict in Ukraine have agreed on ceasefire from midnight, February 15, Russian President Vladimir Putin told journalists after an almost 16-hour meeting.
"Despite all difficulties in the negotiating process, we managed to agree on the main issue," Putin said.
On the first day after heavy armaments are pulled out, the Ukraine conflicting parties need to start a dialog on the modalities of holding local elections in accordance with Ukrainian legislation, he added.
Russian President has called on the conflicting parties in Ukraine to stop bloodshed as soon as possible.
"I want to urge both conflicting parties to end bloodshed as soon as possible and switch to a real political process of a long-term settlement," the Russian leader told journalists.
The leaders of Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine held consultations on the Ukraine peace settlement throughout the night.
In the past few hours, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) special envoy to Ukraine, Heidi Tagliavini, joined the Normandy format talks, coming from a meeting of the Contact Group on the resolution of the ongoing military conflict in the southeast of Ukraine.