Progress reported in Ukraine-Russia talks but fighting continues

http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-ukraine-russia-talks-progress-20140609-story.html



Thousands of residents of violence-racked eastern Ukraine have fled the fighting in recent weeks. In this photo, civilians wait for a bus Monday to take them out of Slovyansk after mortar fire damaged an apartment building.

Progress reported in Ukraine-Russia talks but fighting continues
Carol J. Williams
June 9, 2014

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry reported progress Monday after a second day of talks with a Moscow envoy aimed at ending the fighting between government forces and pro-Russia separatists in the east.

Violence continued, however, in the besieged, militant-occupied town of Slovyansk, demonstrating the virulence of the separatist movement, which appears to be spreading out of both Kiev's and Moscow's control.

Although details of the progress made in the peace talks were not released, Kiev media cited a Foreign Ministry statement that referred to a plan for bringing calm to the area.

"The sides reached a mutual understanding on key stages of the implementation of the plan and on a list of priorities which will contribute to a de-escalation of the situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine," it said.