The deal agreed by Vladimir Putin and Petro Poroshenko in Minsk yesterday provides a ray of hope that the conflict in eastern Ukraine might be moving towards a settlement. But it would be foolish to view the pact more optimistically than that. After a testy 16-hour negotiation, the Russian and Ukrainian presidents have at least settled on a framework to end the fighting that has taken more than 5,000 lives. However, a similar agreement signed in the Belarusian capital in September swiftly collapsed. And any optimism about Minsk II requires a leap of faith that Mr Putin has suddenly become serious about repairing his relations with Ukraine and the west.
弗拉基米尔•普京(Vladimir Putin)和彼得罗•波罗申科(Petro Poroshenko)昨日在明斯克达成的协议，为乌克兰东部的冲突可能走向和解提供了一线希望。但是，如果以更加乐观的态度看待这一协议，那将是愚蠢的。经过持续16个小时的紧张谈判，俄罗斯和乌克兰总统至少就结束已经夺走逾5000人生命的交战谈成了一个框架。然而，去年9月在白俄罗斯首都签署的类似协议很快就崩溃了。对于“明斯克协议第二版”的任何乐观情绪，都需要一种“信仰飞跃”，即相信普京突然间对于修复他与乌克兰和西方的关系变得认真了。