Ukraine wants ceasefire but the rebels say bring it on.
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DNIPROPETROVSK, Ukraine Pro-Russian separatists on Wednesday rejected a call to disarm during a cease-fire that Ukraine is preparing to start unilaterally within days.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said the truce would be the first step of a 14-point plan to end the violence that has engulfed the east of the country for months. Acting defense minister Mykhailo Koval gave a timetable of days, while Poroshenko said only that the cease-fire would get underway shortly.
The peace proposal includes sealing the border with Russia, disarming the insurgents, offering amnesty to those who did not commit serious crimes and providing safe passage to rebels willing to leave the country. The president also promised to pursue constitutional amendments that would decentralize power and grant regional governments more say.
I can say that the cease-fire time will be pretty short, Poroshenko told reporters after a speech before graduates of the National Defense University. We expect that disarmament of military groups and restoration of order will take place right after it.
But separatists, who have been battling government forces for almost three months, promptly rejected the offer from Poroshenko, whom they said they do not trust.
This proposal by Poroshenko to lay down our arms is simply a tactical ploy, said Myroslav Rudenko, a spokesman for the separatists self-proclaimed Donetsk Peoples Republic, according to the Russian Interfax news agency. If people fall for it, there will be a new mopping-up operation. We will not put our weapons away.
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Rebels reject peace proposal from Ukraine - The Washington Post
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DNIPROPETROVSK, Ukraine Pro-Russian separatists on Wednesday rejected a call to disarm during a cease-fire that Ukraine is preparing to start unilaterally within days.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said the truce would be the first step of a 14-point plan to end the violence that has engulfed the east of the country for months. Acting defense minister Mykhailo Koval gave a timetable of days, while Poroshenko said only that the cease-fire would get underway shortly.
The peace proposal includes sealing the border with Russia, disarming the insurgents, offering amnesty to those who did not commit serious crimes and providing safe passage to rebels willing to leave the country. The president also promised to pursue constitutional amendments that would decentralize power and grant regional governments more say.
I can say that the cease-fire time will be pretty short, Poroshenko told reporters after a speech before graduates of the National Defense University. We expect that disarmament of military groups and restoration of order will take place right after it.
But separatists, who have been battling government forces for almost three months, promptly rejected the offer from Poroshenko, whom they said they do not trust.
This proposal by Poroshenko to lay down our arms is simply a tactical ploy, said Myroslav Rudenko, a spokesman for the separatists self-proclaimed Donetsk Peoples Republic, according to the Russian Interfax news agency. If people fall for it, there will be a new mopping-up operation. We will not put our weapons away.
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Rebels reject peace proposal from Ukraine - The Washington Post
