Ukraine peace talks resume

The talks being held in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, involve representatives of the Ukrainian and Russian governments, as well as pro-Russia separatists and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

"The meeting has begun," a Belarusian foreign ministry spokesman confirmed to the AFP news agency on Wednesday evening.

Among the possible concrete measures expected to be discussed during two days of closed-door talks are a withdrawal of heavy weapons by both Ukrainian government forces and the pro-Russia separatists, as well as a prisoner swap.

One of the leaders of the pro-Russia separatists, Denis Pushilin, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying that the parties to the conflict had reached a preliminary agreement on the prisoner swap prior to the Minsk talks, but the details still had to be hammered out.

Rebels seeking significant autonomy

Pushilin also said the separatists were demanding that Kyiv grant significant autonomy to the regions of eastern Ukraine that they control.

This is an idea that was actually put forward by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko earlier this autumn, but he withdrew the proposal after the separatists held local elections last month against the wishes of Kyiv.

A senior official from Poroshenko's office said no definitive results were expected until at least the second day of the current round of negotiations, to be held on Friday.

Previous talks held in Minsk back in September produced a ceasefire, including a pull-back of heavy weapons, but it failed to stop the hostilities. The level of fighting has abated over the past few weeks amid renewed efforts to make peace.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel joined her counterparts from France, Ukraine and Russia in a conference call on Monday to discuss the latest round of talks.

More than 4,600 people have been killed since the fighting in the eastern Ukraine regions of Donetsk and Luhansk broke out in April, following Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.

Ukraine and the West have accused Moscow of stoking the fires of conflict in eastern Ukraine by supplying the separatists with troops and weapons, something the Kremlin has denied. The EU's Russia sanctions over Ukraine to remain in place:European Union and the United States have imposed sanctions on Russia# over its alleged involvement.

pfd/ksb (AP, dpa, AFP)