of. >> the ukrainian president, porechenko. said that he is prepared to make concessions to the rebels. >> we provide significant steps, with power under certain

distance? the region for economics, gathered to be for the languages on the territory,. >> it began back in april, killed at least 2,600 people. pro russian rebelled control large parts of eastern ukraine. they say they will still be seeking independence in the donetsk region despite the ceasefire agreement. there's a new front on the black seacoast. crucial with mariupol. in donetsk, in the eastern ukraine, what signs do you see

of it taking place? >> . >> the ceasefire is holding, as far as we can tell here in donetsk at least. there was some type of artillery rocket an hour ago, and neighbor they're firing off their final ammunition before the ceasefire begins, but since it came in a couple of minutes ago, we have had nothing, and the streets are remarkably empty. it's a friday, and we wouldn't expect there to be too much traffic around. and what we were finding today, asking people, we found hope and also skepticism. many people have enjoyed five long months of bitter fighting, and there of been previous ceasefires, which were not worth the paper they were written on. they were violated almost immediately as they came into force. but the conflict, which is

split families, causing a huge rift between the east of the country and the large majority of the rest of ukraine, the conflict may be over. what we're seeing in the fortnight is a beginning of a frozen conflict, a conflict that nobody could win. a war that was unwinnable by either the separatists or kiev. and reluctantly on either side, the reality was that there was going to have to be some kind of negotiated settlement. >> but with the terms of the plan, the ukrainian troops pulled back and the rebels pulling back, do you see any evidence of that actually happening? >> my understanding is that the troops are going to stay in a status quo at the moment. and they're not going to be immediately withdrawing at any great speed. it will take time. i mean, there's going to have to be considerable building of

trust in this part of ukraine, the trail. and talk of a humanitarian corridor from the town of -- . and that ended in many hundreds of ukrainians being killed by pro russian forces. they will have to do an investigation as to exactly what went on there. there's considerable ill will between the two sides, and that's not going to go away easily. despite the efforts of those two sides in minsk, it's going to fake a long time to ensure that the civilians and the fighters, they can trust each other, and the promises made are going to be kept. that said, like i said earlier, there's no winnable military solution for this conflict. and so the reality is that both sides have to come to some kind of accommodations. what the various visions for

the future of what ukraine are are still far apart. they are keen on independence, and that's something that poroshenko is unlikely to give them. >> thank you very much. and let's go now to the new front line that we mentioned earlier, mariupol. and harry, you were experience north last couple of hours, very heavy fighting. has calm been restored there now? >> it has. i mean, calm wasn't pretty during the day for any great stretch in time. there has been a good deal of artillery being fired into the surrounding here, in eastern mariupol, and close to the

ceasefire deadline, which was underway a few minutes ago. and before that, there was an extremely heavy burst of what we believe were rockets cutting into the countryside, a couple of meters away from here, and it's where we saw an infantry group moving off in that direction. it may be that they were targeted. there's a large artillery that pulled up into the area, and they moved off again. and it seems that things have flared back to life in a serious way. but since then, other than a couple of cracks of small-arms fire, o'we have heard nothing in the last few minutes since the ceasefire got underway. >> thank you, harry, and we'll check back in with you as the ceasefire continues. back from moscow, what is the reaction that we have been seeing from the kremlin to where poroshenko is calling his

peace plan? >> well, we have just gotten a release from the press spokesman. and let me just read it to you. the russian president welcomes a signing of a protocol in minsk, based on the outcome of the consultation, dealing with the implementation of president vladimir putin's and ukrainian poroshenko's initiatives. moscow hopes that all of the documents and provisions will be thoroughly observed by the party. and the negotiating process will continue until the crisis in ukraine is fully restored. >> let's take a step back a minute and look at why this ceasefire might be enactive now. what sparked this momentum from the two sides to come up with this peace agreement? >> well, certainly, it was in

poroshenko's, but really, his forces, ever since nato said the russians have been infiltrating in large numbers over the last ten days, his forces have been really back on the back foot. so the war was, i think he was trying to realize was basically unwinnable. in terms of the motivation for russia, well, putin will be getting some credit for actually coming up with the 7 point plan, and then having the muscle to twist both sides of the set of arms, and getting the thing signed. putin knows that there were sanctions in the wings, and now we have heard just a few hours ago that the eu, the eu ambassadors, decided to put on hold the sanctions, the stricter sanctions planning to introduce possibly as early as today, they're going to be put on hold for 70 hours, and possibly even as much as a week to see if the ceasefire is

successful. >> yes, certainly there. and we'll come back to you to get some more reaction from moscow and other events that have come out of the nato summit. it's agreed to set up a rapid response force that could be deployed anywhere in the world within days. alliance can include thousands of troops. and it certainly is a message to russia. the decision reaffirms nato's support for its eastern members, latvia, lithuania and of course poland. >> the nato summit has been consumed with discussions about ukraine and russia's euphemistically termed adventurism there. it was always pie in the sky to expect a military fight. and this is it.

>> today we agreed what we call a spearhead within our response force. very high, able to deploy at very short notice. this spearhead will include several thousand land troops, ready to deploy within a few days. >> the decision, rasmussen said, a strong message to nato members and the aggressors. >> nato protects all allies at all times, and it sends a clear message it any potential aggressor, should you even think of attacking one ally, you will be facing the whole alliance. >> the new spearhead force could in theory respond to other challenges like the self declared islamic state in iraq and syria.

mr. rasmussen said that nato stands ready to help iraq. and exactly what the assistance might entail. the civil war with nato, after afghanistan. but there's really only one question that leads to the summit. can nato act meaningfully to deter the further russian aggression in eastern europe? i spoke to the former minister of estonia. >> as one of the former leaders of russia, do you feel that you're secured? >> yes, because of the defense principles there, everyone knows it, and practically steps should increase the psychological. >> there's no further reason to fear further aggression by russia? >> no.

but anyway, the new nato will emerge, better funded and more able to respond to turbulent times. aljazeera, new port, wales. >> let's get more on this at the nato summit in wales, and james, this is possibly the most significant thing in terms of the alliance's development. the rapid reaction force. talk us through its mandate and how it's going to work, and it's significant. >> well, the mandate is very much collective defense of the allies. and we kept hearing this word, allies, as we always do when it comes to nato and the summit. and let me explain what that means. when nato refers to its allies, it refers to itself, the eight members, the 28. and it doesn't refer to anyone

else. the aggression, they say, the other nato allies have to respond. dozens of course countries that nato may be friends with, partners with, have good relations with, like ukraine. doesn't commit nato in any way to help the government of president poroshenko, just 48 hours, 4,000 to 5,000 troops will be on constant deployment, and many more than that. because with your bags packed and your equipment ready to fly on a plane, and that's the readiness that you can't keep up long. so you're going to find countries, with the uk saying, the people provide about 3,500 troops. >> okay, james.

we're going to come back to you and talk about what else nato has been talking about in a second. first, peter is standing by in moscow, and peter, the reaction from the kremlin, sending a direct message to president putin, isn't it? >> . >> it is, there has been no specific reaction to the establishment of the spearhead force. all that the kremlin would say is basically they were convinced that nato had always planned on beefing up its forces in eastern europe, and ukraine simply provided the excuse for them. they had very little reaction to the nato summit. but obviously, there's great unease in russia about any talk of poroshenko and nato coming

together. and ukraine seeking membership with knight. that would be totally unacceptable and regarded as really a threat to national security. but the kremlin and the foreign ministry are going through the minutes of the whole nato summit, and there will be obviously, i would think a statement tomorrow. >> okay, peter, thank you very much indeed for that reaction. now, from the kremlin, and let's go back finally to newport and james, because it has not been all about ukraine over the last few days. it makes it feel like it, especially in the past hour. but what else has been discussed? iraq has been pretty crucial, hasn't it? >> absolutely, laura, and i know that we're talking too much about ukraine, but i want to give you more ukraine news that has just broken in the last few minutes. david cameron, the british

prime minister, he has welcomed the ceasefire, and that said that it doesn't mean that the eu sanctions should be shelfed. any way that the ukraine is divided. it's strong language from david cameron, and moving onto your question, strong language from him on isis. but he has just said this a short time ago. and that is right now, uk is not yet supporting military action against islamic state. because he has to persuade parliament to get behind that sort of action. but what he has been with, with president obama, they're opposed to isis, and they will sign up for this coalition, and the effort then is to try to

get regional partners, king abdullah, and the king of jordan, and turkey is a nba of both iraq and syria, and they would like to get other countries in the region involved, particularly in the gulf states, and what it will do for nato, and i think to get the other players involved, they will need to go to the u.n. and unfortunately with that effort, there's the u.n. general assembly, which is taking place a couple of weeks ago at the end of this month, where all of the leaders from around the world will gather. and president obama, during that gathering, happens to be the current president of the u.s., on the security council, and he's going to actually himself preside over the security council. the head of state, and they will have that sanction and what to do about is. >> many thanks for that.

we'll be coming back and we expect president obama to give his final statement. thank you very much. and david cameron, only unified action will defeat the fighters of the islamic state. >> what is required actually on the ground from the kurds? from the new iraqi government? from the neighboring states? all of that pressuring applied, and yes of course there's a role that countries like britain and america and others can play. what considers for helping the iraqi government. with supplies of humanitarian aid. and americans are taking part in airstrikes. >> okay, in the iraqi capital with this update. >> reporter: iraq's new government is expected to welcome an offer by nato for

more help in fighting the islamiislamic state group. a deadline for a new cabinet from the prime minister, but officials super indicated that they will welcome any assistance, short of boots on the ground. and then when offering to send combat troops, that offer would likely be rejected when it came. but iraqi and kurdish officials say they do want arms, and heavy weapons, and the iraqi officials would certainly welcome training and coordination, as well as surveillance and intelligence. all of those things to push back islamic state fighters. iraqis military is waging a fierce battle at the moment on the outskirts of tikrit, saddam hussein's former hometown. they are finding more evidence of mass graves. the latest uncovered just today

in between baghdad and kirkuk, a farming community. it was liberated from islamic state fighters on monday, and recently, local people have been finding and today managed to uncover a grave on the side of the road with up to 30 bodies, believed to be truck drivers stopped at a islamic state checkpoint flee months ago, and killed at point-blank range. they have killed at least 17 people, the latest blast went off in a car bomb on a commercial street. at least 12 people were killed. and another blast at an outdoor market, they killed three people. >> kenya's president, she doesn't have enough to process.

the president is accused of crimes against humanity. tir an's nuclear program, they have made little progress. the latest efforts for allegations that they are working on atomic arms. iran has insisted that it never worked on such arms. only three of the steps have been taken. india's highest court is reviewing the cases of hundreds of thousands of prisoners languishing in prisons without a trial. they have been in custody for years, awaiting trial in india's notoriously slow justice system. the landmark ruling, the long

ignored law that protects the rights of prisoners. doing so could give as many as 250,000 people their freedom. at least half of the maximum sentence that they would receive if found guilty. >> especially when they're in modern centers, even without having a trial. and i think its something really welcome. human rights. >> it has been building up in the prison. and what are wee hearing from the government on how they plan to address this problem long-term? >> well, the government was actually working on a similar plan to free these prisoners. and the supreme court ruling beat them to the punch, but that is going to be a massive problem here. the bureaucracy is notoriously

slow and inefficient. and the prison is in poor condition, if at all. so it takes some doing to figure out which prisoners have been in prison for how long and for what crimes. and it's going to take at least days or weeks even before we can figure out or see when the first prisoners will be released. >> there have been calls for the government to pay compensation for the prisoners so long in jail do you think that's likely to ever happen? >> well, the ironic twist there would be if they want to do that, they would have to take the government to court, which again would take years ago. and the problem is, the government has in other cases, on a case-by-case basis, given compensation to people who prove they are in other situations. but we're looking at a quarter of a million people who are set to be released. and the government is going to actually not just take care of

these people, but make sure that this doesn't happen in the future. because critics say that regardless of the ruling today, that this is actually only treating a symptom. the main problem is the court system, and that's why the people are stuck in prison for so long. and unless that's addressed, this problem will keep occurring. >> thank you very much. >> at least 40 people have died following heavy monsoon rains in pakistan. the country's weather department has talked about the flooding from rising water levels in rivers. >> it has been completed. the orders from the boats in the election, they have requested that both candidates

withdraw. they both believe they won june's poll. let's go back to our top story. the ceasefire in eastern ukraine and the truce between the pro russian rebels and the government have come into effect less than half an hour ago. but before that agreement was reached, there were reports of heavy fighting in at least two parts of the country. we're getting a lot of news lines coming out of the nato summit in wales, and we're expecting the u.s. president, barack obama, to come out and give his closing remarks at the end of the two day summit any anyone now, in the next five minutes, and we'll go over to that when he comes out. in the meantime, let's join our defense analyst, joining us live from moscow. and let's talk about the

ceasefire. we have poroshenko coming up, saying that he has a 12 point plan, but it's his peace plan, and we have moscow talking about the seven point peace plan. and no matter who takes creditor in it, will it stick? >> there's a problem with this ceasefire. i mean, most likely, it's going to be somehow cemented because all sides would benefit from it. there's a military balance, and further fighting won't put forward any cause of any side. but this ceasefire is similar to some extent with the ceasefires agreed between hamas and israel. i mean, there's a problem of implementation. there's a problem of interpretation, there's a problem of lack of trust on all

sides, and a basic problem that this is going to be implemented, a ceasefire, and not a decision of the underlying conflict. the underlying conflict, so there's a ceasefire, but everyone actually unders that somewhere in the future, there's going to be more fighting. >> yeah, absolutely. you have the two sides in very heavy battle in eastern ukraine, and indeed, are the rebels having the upper hand, and everyone wonders how the ceasefire will play out. >> well, actually, it's not so much the rebels, to tell the truth. of course vladimir putin denies it, but these were russian troops intervening to balance the situation. but the russian objective, extremic objective is not to destroy ukraine. it's to keep ukraine anchored in the russian sphere of influence, and influence

ukraine. it's paramount importance to russia, and not obliteration with the rebellion. but at the same time, to keep the rebellion as part of ukraine as an anchor, where ukraine is going to be anchored in the russian space. ukraine doesn't make sense to keep fighting with, because right now, they're taking in a lot of punishment, but there's a problem of implementation, because the controls right now are very fuzzy. >> thank you very much for taking the time to join us from moscow. we're still waiting for the u.s. president, barack obama to address a press conference in new port, and well go to that when it happens.