Russia, Ukraine and the pro-Russian separatists on Thursday reached a new agreement to stop the escalating violence in eastern Ukraine, but the country's president, Petro Poroshenko, warned that it would be tough to implement. "It was a very difficult negotiation. And we expect a not easy implementation process," Poroshenko said in Brussels, after briefing EU leaders on the deal. The agreement was brokered in Minsk by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande in 17 hours of marathon talks with Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The talks were widely seen as a last chance to end the conflict between government troops and pro-Russian separatists, which has already killed more than 5,400 people. Failure to respect the agreement should trigger "further restrictive measures of the European Union and United States," Poroshenko said.
