Ukraine peace talks break down – Al Jazeera English.
A round of peace talks between Ukrainian and pro-Russian rebel leaders has been scrapped, the host of the negotiations -the foreign ministry of Belarus – has said.
Dmitry Mironchik, a spokesman of the ministry, told the AP news agency that the talks broke down on Friday, but did not give a reason.
The opening round was held on Wednesday, one day after Ukraine’s decision to drop its non-aligned status, which added a new element of tension to attempts to resolve the violent crisis in the country.
A deal was reached on only the least contentious of the four agenda points: a prisoner swap that will involve 225 rebels and 150 Ukrainian troops.
An aide to one of the two rebels at Wednesday’s negotiations said he was heading back to the separatist east Ukrainian region of Donetsk, because there appeared to be little point in staying in Minsk.
