Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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33. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on whether the agreed ceasefire in Ukraine, that was due to come into place on15 February 2015 will hold, especially in the key strategic town of Debaltseve; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8279/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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On 12 February, an agreement was reached in Minsk on a new peace deal aimed at ending the conflict in Ukraine which has claimed over 5,400 lives, left many thousands more injured and forced almost a million people to flee their homes.

The declaration agreed in Minsk by Chancellor Merkel, President Hollande, President Putin and President Poroschenko and the package of measures signed by the parties to the conflict provides for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of heavy weapons in eastern Ukraine. The package also contains a timetable for the implementation of key parts of the September Minsk Agreements, which provide the basis for a comprehensive resolution of the crisis.

The ceasefire came into effect at midnight on 14 February. The OSCE has reported that it had largely held across most parts of the conflict area, with the notable exception of Debaltseve, a strategically important transport hub linking the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk. Despite signing the ceasefire agreement, Russian-backed separatists continued a full scale assault on Debaltseve forcing Ukrainian troops to withdraw from the town, which is now in rebel hands. I strongly condemn the rebel assault on Debaltseve. It is a major breach of the ceasefire and threatens to undermine the peace deal agreed in Minsk on 12 February.

Having achieved their objective in Debaltseve, it remains to be seen whether the rebels may now take steps to implement the ceasefire and withdraw their heavy weapons. Russia has a key role to play in this regard given the considerable influence it exercises over the separatists groups.

Events last weekend, particularly the release of prisoners and the commitment by both sides to begin withdrawing heavy weapons this week, are positive signs. However, there have been worrying reports about shelling near Mariupol city.

Chancellor Merkel, President Hollande, President Poroshenko, President Putin and their Foreign Ministers remain in telephone contact and have indicated that they will continue to push for implementation of the package of measures agreed in Minsk on 12 February.

On 17 February, the UN Security Council unanimously called on all parties to immediately cease hostilities and abide by the commitments agreed in Minsk, including facilitating access for the OSCE Mission to enable them to monitor the situation on the ground. EU High Representative Federica Mogherini has also issued a strong statement to this effect.

I fully support the UN Security Council Resolution and the High Representative’s call, which also underlined the need for the agreed withdrawal of heavy weapons. It is critical that all parties honour their commitments to end the fighting and fully support a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Ukraine.