Ukraine on Monday offered an immediate ceasefire to Russia, after Moscow claimed that Kiev rejected a fresh peace initiative by Russian President Vladimir Putin, dpa reported. "We are ready to work with Russia to ensure ceasefire and implementation of the provisions of Minsk agreements in their entirety," Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin wrote on Twitter. Klimkin's Ministry said in a statement that Ukraine wants Moscow to commit itself to implementing the peace accords signed in the capital of Belarus in September. The Russian Foreign Ministry retorted that Kiev should first withdraw heavy weapons from the front line, as stipulated in the accords. "Only this approach will lower the risk of a fresh armed confrontation," the ministry said. The Kremlin said over the weekend that Ukraine had rejected a proposal by President Vladimir Putin to immediately withdraw heavy weapons. Heavy fighting broke out last week in and around the airport of Donetsk after the city's pro-Russian separatists tried to retake it from government troops.
