Following the NATO meeting on Ukraine today and the Minsk agreement on a ceasefire in the Donbass region, Gianni Pittella, president of the Socialists and Democrats Group in the European Parliament, stated:

“Finally the guns have stopped firing in Ukraine and a peace process has started. We welcome the outcome of the meeting today in Minsk which gives genuine hope that words can be followed by concrete steps to establish the conditions for a peaceful solution, based on dialogue between Ukrainian government, the rebel forces in eastern Ukraine, Russia and the EU.

“However, we cannot close our eyes to the thousands of casualties, the violence and the open breaches of international law. We urge all sides to stick to the ceasefire and engage in serious negotiations leading to a political settlement that respects the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of Ukraine.

“It has to be clear that the European Union does not and will not recognise the annexation of Crimea.

“It is in the interests of both Europe and Russia to re-establish strong political and economic relations based on trust and mutual convenience. We hope that Russia will choose to become a trustworthy partner of the EU and now Mr Putin's actions must demonstrate a genuine willingness to restore dialogue with us.”