After all-night negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany, a deal was achieved to restore stability and peace in rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian government, Moscow and the representatives of pro-Russian separatists agreed on a road map for peace during talks in Minks with the leaders of Russia, France and Germany agreeing to support the deal.The cease-fire agreement includes the withdrawal of all foreign weapons and troops from Ukrainian territory and the disarmament of rebel groups, the establishment of a 50-kilometer buffer zone in the rebel-held Donbas region free from heavy weapons and the implementation of constitutional reform to enable decentralization for rebel regions by the end of 2015. The cease-fire is set to take effect on Feb. 15. The measures aim to restore the Ukrainian government's full control over the state borders throughout the conflict zone."This is a relief for Europe and a fine example of what France and Germany can do for peace," French President François Hollande told the press after long hours of negotiations. "This text, which has been signed by the contact group and the separatists, deals with all questions … Decentralization, border control and removal of heavy weapons are all included," he said."Toward the end, President [Vladimir] Putin also put pressure on the separatists so that they agreed to a cease-fire from Saturday at 24:00 hours, or Sunday at zero hours," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, stressing the heavy impact of Russian authorities over separatists in Ukraine.According to the accepted cease-fire agreement, heavy weapons will be pulled out from conflict zones beginning on Feb. 17 and must be completed in two weeks. Considering the decentralization issues, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said: "There have been no agreements of any kind on the autonomy or federalization." Poroshenko had rejected any possible federalization or secession of Ukrainian land, as the Sept. 19 Minsk Memorandum on the status of eastern Ukraine promises only granting "special status." According to measures adopted by the contact group, Ukraine's parliament is expected to adopt a resolution to define a special regime in eastern Ukraine within 30 days.During the 10 months of conflict, previous peace talks had not produced a breakthrough on issues relating to the settlement of the crisis in Ukraine. The Russian position has been too far removed to reconcile, therefore the conflicting interest of Russia over the Ukrainian crisis prevented a sustainable settlement between Kiev and the eastern Ukrainian separatists. Putin rejected the charges that Moscow has backed, armed and financed the pro-Russian separatist groups in the embattled east of the country, calling the conflict-torn region a part of Russian territory. Amid the mediating diplomatic efforts on the initiative of France and Germany to restore peace and order in eastern Ukraine, to what extent the cease-fire agreement would prevail is a matter of concern for the time being.In order to maintain effective control over the cease-fire, observance in eastern Ukraine, Russian and Ukrainian armed forces general staff will hold talks on Friday.Since hostilities erupted in eastern Ukraine, more than 5,500 people have been killed during heavy clashes between armed groups. According to the U.N., the death toll has sharply increased as more than 2 million and Ukrainians were forcibly displaced due to worsening humanitarian conditions in rebel-held areas where heavy fighting has turned the cities into battle zones.