GUE/NGL President Gabi Zimmer has commented on today's Ukraine ceasefire agreement.

“The ceasefire now adopted in Ukraine finally brings the escalation of violence of recent months to an end. It is both a unique opportunity and a duty on the parties involved to find a peaceful political solution,” she said. “All parties to the agreement must first ensure that heavy weapons are removed from the region and that people are immediately supplied with urgent humanitarian assistance.

“All parties have a duty to implement the agreed steps quickly and consistently. The leaders who were involved in the successful negotiations on the agreement in Minsk have a direct responsibility for continuing the peace process; the now adopted supervisory mechanism is an important common step towards this goal.”

MEP Helmut Scholz, GUE/NGL rapporteur on Ukraine, added: “I hope that the agreement to both recognise the territorial integrity of Ukraine and to reject any form of military conflict resolution will be understood from all sides as an opportunity. This deeply divided country must finally develop ways to address its serious social and economic problems.

“The war and its accompanying rhetoric of recent months have dominated public discourse – this means important debates on the country's social division, the unbroken power of corrupt oligarchic clans, and people's desire to live autonomously in all regions of the country have been side-lined. For Ukraine there will now hopefully be a window of opportunity to develop cooperative and rational relations with all neighbours. The economic insanity of cutting off traditional economic relations should be stopped quickly.”

GUE/NGL Press Contacts:
Emily Macintosh +32 470 85 05 08
Gay Kavanagh +32 473 84 23 20
European United Left / Nordic Green Left
European Parliamentary Group