e-News® | The NEWS Company… : A ceasefire agreed by the Ukrainian government and pro-Russia rebels in the east appears to be holding. There were no reports of fighting overnight, after the deal was struck in Minsk in Belarus on Friday.

Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko says there should now be talks about a long-term solution to the conflict, which has killed about 2,600 people. However, the rebels said the ceasefire had not changed their policy of wanting to separate from Ukraine.

The BBC’s Richard Galpin in Donetsk says that overnight he had not heard any of the heavy artillery barrages that took place before the truce. The BBC’s Fergal Keane tweeted from Mariupol, further south, that the ceasefire was holding there.

Ukraine’s National Guard Commander Stepan Poltorak told the Interfax news agency: “As of this morning there haven’t been any violations.”

BBC