(VOVworld) – The participants at a high-level talk on the Ukraine crisis held in Minsk, Belarus, on Tuesday agreed to ease tensions in eastern Ukraine and expressed a hope that the talks will lead to peace.

All participants of Minsk talks are interested in peace in center of Europe (Photo: eng.blta.by)

At a press conference following the talk, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko called the talk a great success despite some remaining differences.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton called for further measures to defuse the crisis in Ukraine, and Russian President Vladimir Putin said using force only escalated the tension, adding that Kiev needs to have a dialogue with the federalists in eastern Ukraine.

In response to Western sanctions, President Putin said Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus have agreed on retaliatory measures, including canceling imports from Ukraine.