Ukraine, Russian separatists reach tentative peace deal

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• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  This weeks NATO summit, dominated by the crisis in Ukraine and fears over the Islamic State group, came to a close today in Wales, just as a deal was finalized which could end the fighting in Eastern Ukraine.

  Jeffrey Brown has the story.

• PRESIDENT PETRO POROSHENKO, Ukraine:

  I give an order to chief of my military to declare a cease-fire in an half-an-hour's time.

• JEFFREY BROWN:

  Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko made the announcement outside the NATO summit in Wales shortly before 4:00 p.m./11:00 a.m. Eastern time. He said his government had agreed to a framework for peace with Russian-backed separatists.

• PETRO POROSHENKO:

  This is a very important change not only for Ukraine, not only the region, for the whole world, about the security.

• JEFFREY BROWN:

  The agreement came following talks in Belarus today among representatives of Russia, Ukraine,the separatists, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. A separatist leader, prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, spoke after the deal was reached.

• ALEKSANDR ZAKHARCHENKO, Prime Minister, Donetsk People’s Republic (through interpreter):

  The cease-fire will allow us to save not only civilian lives, but also the lives of the people who took up arms in order to defend their land and ideals, their targets and their goals.

• JEFFREY BROWN:

  Negotiators agreed upon the withdrawal of heavy weaponry, the release of all prisoners and the delivery of humanitarian aid to war-torn cities.

  Back in Wales, President Obama expressed cautious optimism over the truce.

• PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA:

  With respect to the cease-fire agreement, obviously, we are hopeful, but, based on past experience, also skeptical that in fact the separatists will follow through and the Russians will stop violating Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. So it has to be tested.

• JEFFREY BROWN:

  He credited economic sanctions levied on Moscow by the U.S. and European Union, but said allies are prepared to bring even more.

  In Ukraine, fighting continued right up until the late afternoon cease-fire took effect, and there were some initial reports of explosions and shellings after the truce began, but it appeared to hold into the evening, as soldiers pulled back from the front lines.

  Following numerous failed cease-fire attempts over months of fighting, some residents appeared wary.

• WOMAN (through interpreter):

  I have said I have hopes, but it is very hard to trust anybody these days. Moreover, we have seen such efforts before and they brought nothing good, but we must hope.

• JEFFREY BROWN:

  Another flash point came far from Southeast Ukraine, after word that an Estonian security guard was taken at gunpoint from the Baltic state into Russia. Estonia's president urged calm and officials said the abduction didn't appear to be politically motivated.

  The ongoing Russian involvement in Ukraine and its other regional muscle-flexing prompted NATO leaders in Wales to approve plans today for a rapid response force. It will be headquartered in Eastern Europe, with thousands of troops able to mobilize quickly if an alliance country comes under attack.

• NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen:

• ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN, Secretary-General, NATO:

  NATO protects all allies at all times, and it sends a clear message to any potential aggressor, should you even think of attacking one ally, you will be facing the whole alliance.

• JEFFREY BROWN:

  Leaders also agreed to steadily increase member countries' defense budgets over the next decade.

  Meanwhile, President Obama said there was unanimity among members that the Islamic State group's surge across Iraq and Syria poses a significant threat to NATO countries. He said a coalition of America's allies, which includes the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Turkey, Canada, and others, is prepared for an international effort to combat that threat.

• PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA:

  You can't contain an organization that is running roughshod through that much territory. The goal has to be to dismantle them.