(VOVworld) - An agreement has been brokered in Minsk to stop hostilities in Ukraine from Sunday, February 15. The deal was reached after marathon talks between the leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine, and signed by the Ukrainian rebels. Russian President Vladimir Putin told the media after the talks that all parties have signed a document on general solutions to implement the previously signed Minsk agreement.

Normandy Four leaders take part in peace talks on resolving the Ukrainian crisis in Minsk, February 11, 2015.
(Photo: Reuters / Mykola Lazarenko)

According to the document, Kiev’s troops would pull back heavy weapons from the current frontline. The rebels would pull back from the line as it existed in September, when the previous ceasefire agreement was signed.

The weapons pullout must start on Sunday and be completed in no longer than 14 days. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is charged of implementing the ceasefire on the ground and will use its drone fleet and monitors to verify that both parties are sticking to the deal. The agreement requires a political reform in Ukraine to ensure decentralization and a special status for its rebel provinces. It requires Ukraine to adopt a legislation which would provide permanent privileges to Lugansk and Donetsk Regions, currently self-declared Republics, by the end of this year.

One of the agreement’s highlights was the Normandy Four leaders’ reiteration of fully respecting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and that a peaceful solution is the only one to solve the current crisis in Ukraine.