MOSCOW, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of the Normandy Four held a phone conversation Tuesday, expressing support for a ceasefire in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas due in part to the start of the academic year, the Kremlin press service said on Wednesday.
Leaders of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine expressed their clear support for the decision of the Trilateral Contact Group to declare a truce with the start of the academic year on Wednesday, the Kremlin said in a statement.
It added that the four sides hoped the "school truce" would lead to a steady improvement in the region's security situation. It was called to ensure the safety of children and local residents in Donbas during this period.
Leaders also agreed to continue to further implement the Minsk agreements on the basis of a stable ceasefire.h The Normandy Four or the Normandy Format is a group aimed at resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine in accordance with peace deals reached in Belarus's capital Minsk, in February 2015.
A civil war broke out in Ukraine in April 2014 after Donbas residents refused to recognize the new pro-West Kiev authorities and sought independence.
The two sides reached a peace agreement brokered by Russia, France and Germany in September 2014 in Minsk, and a more detailed renewal of the agreement was signed in February 2015.
However, the truce has not been strictly observed, and deadly conflicts flare up occasionally in Donbas, with Kiev and local militias trading accusations of undermining the peace deal.
