German, French ministers in Kyiv to revive peace deal:
The German and French foreign ministers are in Ukraine to shore up a 2015 peace deal amid continuing fighting between government forces and separatists in the country's east.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Jean-Marc Ayrault held talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kyiv on September 14 to discuss ways to secure a durable cease-fire and implement the political provisions of the February 2015 Minsk agreement, which was brokered by Berlin and Paris.
On September 13, the leaders of the Russia-backed separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk regions declared a unilateral cease-fire starting midnight on September 14, and Steinmeier said Kyiv agreed to observe the truce.
Ayrault said an agreement between Kyiv and separatists to withdraw their forces in three areas of eastern Ukraine could be signed next week.
The two sides earlier agreed to abide by a cease-fire to coincide with the start of the school year on September 1, which failed to completely stop the fighting that has already killed more than 9,500 people since April 2014. (AP, Reuters)