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Russia wanted an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and the Sunday morning deadline was agreed in talks in Minsk under pressure from rebel leaders, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman was quoted as saying today.
Russia "supported an immediate ceasefire," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by the Kommersant business daily.
He said the agreed date of February 15 was picked on "the wish of the separatists" due to the difficulty of "effectively achieving a simultaneous ceasefire."
The rebels "actively voiced their demands which were necessary to listen to," Peskov said.
He said that Putin "put in quite a bit of effort to persuade the rebels to sign the document."
Putin said yesterday that the talks were prolonged because Kiev refused to speak to the rebels directly.
