You're reading: Rebels ready for political resolution of conflict with Kyiv

Moscow - Donbas militants leader, member of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic Supreme Council Myroslav Rudenko said it was possible to shift from armed confrontation to a political resolution of their conflict with Kyiv if the ceasefire agreement was honored.

“If the Ukrainian side keeps its ceasefire promises, we will be ready to settle the issue in a political manner,” Rudenko said on Wednesday, Sept. 3, answering a question from Interfax.

He welcomed the ceasefire agreement but said his optimism was cautious.

“Unless this is another political trick of Kyiv, similar with the one we have seen this summer, and they really decide to cease fire, it will help shift the process to a political channel. Definitely, we can only welcome that,” Rudenko told Interfax.

As to the possible ceasefire by militants, he said, “It is the purpose of the consultations to shift this process from the military channel to political. The purpose of our referendum was not the fighting.”

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed on a lasting ceasefire in Donbas in a telephone conversation, the Ukrainian presidential Web site reported on Wednesday.

“The conversation resulted in an agreement on a lasting ceasefire in Donbas. Mutual understanding was achieved regarding steps that would promote the establishment of peace,” it said.

Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov had reported a telephone conversation between Putin and Poroshenko earlier on Wednesday. “The presidents’ viewpoints on possible ways to overcome the grave and critical situation coincide to a considerable degree,” he said.