Not quite a breakthrough but Moscow-Kiev talks offer hope

Both sides agree to implement ceasefire in Ukraine by year end

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Russia's President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Mr Volodymyr Zelensky, have agreed to commit to a full implementation of a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine before the end of this year, but there is no breakthrough as yet on ending the five-year war that has so far claimed around 13,000 lives.

The leaders met for the first time at a summit on Monday, with the nine-hour talks brokered by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on December 11, 2019, with the headline Not quite a breakthrough but Moscow-Kiev talks offer hope. Subscribe