The United States, the European Union, Russia and Ukraine's top officials reached an agreement during Thursday's talks in Geneva on immediate steps to ease the crisis in Ukraine, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The agreement requires all sides to halt any violence, intimidation or provocative actions, the WSJ reported. The agreement also calls for the disarming of all illegally armed groups and for control of buildings seized by pro-Russian separatists to be turned back to authorities.
The agreement will put on hold any additional economic sanctions the West had prepared to impose on Russia if the talks were fruitless, according to the WSJ.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called the deal the result of a "good day's work" but emphasized that the words on paper must be followed by concrete actions, the WSJ reported. Kerry said he had warned Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that Moscow would soon feel the brunt of new sanctions should it not follow through on its commitments under the agreement.
"It is important that these words are translated immediately into actions," Kerry said at a news briefing, the WSJ reported. "None of us leaves here with a sense that the job is done because of words on a paper."
Kerry added if Moscow does not abide by the agreement, something that would be clear in the coming days, "we will have no choice but to impose further costs on Russia," according to the WSJ.
The agreement specifies that Kiev's plans to reform its constitution and transfer more power from the central government to regional authorities must be inclusive, transparent and accountable through the creation of a broad national dialogue, the WSJ reported.
Monitors with the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe will be tasked with helping Ukraine authorities and local communities comply with the requirements outlined in the agreement, according to the WSJ.
In a television appearance in Moscow on Thursday, Putin denied claims that Russian special forces were provoking unrest in eastern Ukraine and called the Ukrainian government's effort to quash the unrest a "crime," the WSJ reported.
In Washington, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the U.S. would send non-lethal assistance to Ukraine's military in light of what he called Russia's ongoing destabilizing actions there, according to the WSJ.
Ukraine has asked for military assistance from the U.S., a request that was believed to include lethal aid such as weapons and ammunition but Obama administration officials have said they were not actively considering lethal assistance for fear it could escalate an already tense situation, the WSJ reported. The U.S. has already sent Ukraine other assistance, such as pre-packaged meals for its military.
