European leaders, Obama vow 'strong reaction' if Minsk deal not respected
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E-mail Xinhua, March 4, 2015
European leaders and U.S. President Barack Obama said they would consider a "strong reaction" if the Feb. 12 Minsk agreement was not respected, according to an official statement from the French president's office on Tuesday.
Leaders from France, Germany, Britain, Italy, the the United States, as well as the head of the European Council, held talks on the situation in Ukraine where three Ukrainian servicemen were killed after a ceasefire was put into place for two weeks.
"They [the leaders] have agreed that a strong reaction from the international community would be necessary in case of a major breach of the process put in place in Minsk," the statement said.
European leaders and Obama reiterated the necessity to broaden the role of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), an European rights and security watchdog, to monitor the situation in Ukraine and ensure the full respect of the ceasefire deal and withdrawal of heavy weapons.
The Minsk ceasefire deal, brokered by Paris and Berlin in the capital of Belarus, envisages both sides withdrawing heavy weapons 25 to 70 km from the front line to create a buffer zone.
Under the agreement, both sides were meant to start withdrawing heavy weaponry from the battle area no later than two days after the start of a truce which came into force on Feb. 15.
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