Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Wednesday he and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed on a "ceasefire process" to settle the five-month conflict that has wreaked havoc in the east, the BBC reported.
A statement published earlier Wednesday on the Ukrainian president's website originally announced a "permanent ceasefire" was reached.
The website was later updated saying the two presidents, who spoke by phone, only agreed on what was needed in order to reach a ceasefire. Putin's office made it clear the president did not agree to any terms because it is not involved in Ukraine's war with the separatists, according to the BBC.
President Barack Obama expressed skepticism over any potential ceasefire, saying there will be no peace as long as Moscow keeps denying its role and continues to send troops to help the pro-Russian separatists.
"We have consistently supported the effort of president (Petro) Poroshenko of achieving a meaningful ceasefire that could lead to a political settlement," Obama said Wednesday, according to Reuters.
"So far it hasn't helped, either because Russia has not been serious about it or it's pretended that it's not controlling the separatists, and separatists, when they thought it was to their advantage, have not abided by the ceasefire," the president said from Estonia, a Baltic state bordering Russia.
Obama is in Estonia to show U.S. solidarity for NATO's Baltic-member states, including Lithuania and Latvia, who fear they could be affected by the Ukrainian uprising, Reuters reported.
They all belonged to the former Soviet Union and have an ethnic Russian population like Ukraine. Any attack on a NATO member is seen as an attack on all member states. Ukraine, however, is not a NATO member.
Russia continues to deny any involvement in the crisis and had accused Ukraine of killing its civilians, including Russians, throughout its fighting with the separatists.
From Estonia, Obama is expected to head for Wales for a NATO summit on Thursday to discuss plans for a rapid response team.
