LATEST: NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen says that alliance leaders have approved a rapid response force to counter a Russian threat and that no country has a veto over NATO enlargement.
Hopeful signs at the talks, if Donetsk separatist leader at the talks said to be a "Ukrainian patriot"?
Latest from the news desk:
Talks involving representatives of the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian separatists are under way amid hopes for agreement on a cease-fire and steps to end their conflict.
The talks, also attended by representatives of Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), are being held in the Belarusian capital, Minsk.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and separatist leaders have said they are ready for a truce if agreement on a plan to end the five-month conflict is reached.
The talks follow a telephone conversation between Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 3 in which they discussed ways to end the conflict that has killed more than 2,600 people in eastern Ukraine since April.
Ukrainian representative Leonid Kuchma and Mikhail Zurabov of Russia both said before the talks that they hoped agreements would be signed. (Reuters, AP, and AFP)
Latest reports from Ukrainian Security Council:
Debaltseve was reported as being encircled and under intense fire yesterday. Interesting if confirmed: