MOSCOW. Sept 3 (Interfax) - A Russian State Duma member expects that Ukraine's report on a ceasefire in Donbas would be implemented immediately, although he doubted that Kyiv is really willing to deliver on its declaration.
"If this is put into practice this would be of colossal significance," Leonid Slutsky, the head of the Russian State Duma committee on the CIS affairs, Eurasian integration, and ties with fellow countrymen, told Interfax on Wednesday in commenting on the Ukrainian presidential press service statement on a ceasefire in Donbas it posted following Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov had reported on Wednesday that Putin and Poroshenko "exchanged opinions as to what should be done primarily to stop bloodshed in the southeastern part of the country [Ukraine] as soon as possible." He said also that "the presidents' viewpoints on possible ways to overcome the grave and critical situation coincide to a considerable degree."
If Kyiv's statements on its willingness to cease fire prove true, "we should see this right now," Slutsky said. "It looks like the situation in the southeast hasn't changed so far. Let's wait for changes within the next few hours," he added.
Slutsky pointed out that Ukraine and its President Poroshenko had declared a ceasefire earlier. "Unfortunately, all this remained only empty declarations, and the bloodshed is continuing," he said.
"Hence, it is important to see confirmation of what Kyiv said," Slutsky said.