EU welcomes ceasefire deal on Ukraine conflict

BRUSSELS (Xinhua) - The European Union (EU) welcomes the fresh ceasefire agreement on the conflict in eastern Ukraine, the EU said Friday.

"We welcome the agreement on a ceasefire reached in Minsk today at the meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group. The ceasefire agreement must now be respected and fully implemented by all sides, " said the European External Action Service, or the EU's foreign policy arm, in a statement.

EU hopes that this will be a first step towards a sustainable political solution, based on respect for Ukraine's "sovereignty and territorial integrity," it said.

The statement added that permanent monitoring of the Russian-Ukrainian border and "withdrawal of illegal armed groups and forces illegally operating on Ukrainian territory" should be integral parts of such a solution.

It said the EU stands ready to support any efforts related to the implementation of the ceasefire, including through the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

"We will continue to follow closely the developments on the ground," said the statement.

The Ukrainian government and militants announced Friday that they have signed a ceasefire protocol that will take effect later in the day.

The truce deal was inked in the Belarusian capital of Minsk, where envoys from the two warring sides as well as Russia and the OSCE were holding talks for a possible political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.

Military clashes between Ukrainian government troops and independence-seeking militia, which started in March, have claimed at least 2,600 lives and displaced approximately 260,000 people.

Eastern towns such as Donetsk and Luhansk are among the more affected areas in the country, with almost 94 percent of civilians displaced.