Ukraine President Poroshenko Agrees to Ceasefire Process With Putin

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that he has agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin on a ceasefire in Eastern Ukraine.

Porshenko's office had said earlier that a permanent ceasefire agreement was reached between the two leaders. But later changed the statement, reports BBC.

The statement on the Ukrainian Presidential website now reads ""Their conversation resulted in agreement on a process for ceasing fire in the Donbass region."

The statement adds that the two leaders have come to a mutual understanding regarding the steps to be taken to achieve peace.

However, Russia said that Putin had not agreed to a ceasefire as Russia was not involved in the fight.

Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that Putin and Poroshenko did not agree on a ceasefire in Ukraine because Russia was not involved in the conflict. He said that the leaders only discussed how to settle the conflict, reports BBC.

The Ukrainian army and pro-Russia rebels are engaged in fighting in Eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian government and the West have accused Russia of aiding the rebels.

The development has come at a time when the U.S. President Barack Obama is in Estonia to meet Baltic leaders ahead of the NATO summit.

Speaking from the Estonian capital, Tannin, President Obama said that Russia will pay a heavy price for its actions in Ukraine adding that NATO is ready to act in support of Ukraine. Obama also promised that the U.S. will support Estonia and other past Soviet states.

Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Lives said that he was hoping that the ceasefire agreement works, reports CNN.

The United States and EU have agreed that more economic sanctions are required to restrain Russia's involvement in Ukraine.

The member states are working on chalking out further sanctions, which  will be complete by the end of the week, EU spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said.