Brussels, 17/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - Agreement on a roadmap for de-escalation of the Ukrainian crisis was reached in Geneva on Thursday evening, 17 April, after talks between US Secretary of State John Kerry, EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Catherine Ashton and the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers, Serguei Lavrov and Andrii Dechtchitsa respectively. At a press conference, Kerry said that all the parties involved in the Ukrainian crisis had expressed agreement on progress to reduce violence, adding that the participants called for all parties to abstain from violent action, acts of intimidation and provocative action. The four parties issued a joint statement noting that all illegal armed groups must be disarmed and all illegally occupied buildings restored to their rightful owners. Russian foreign minister Lavrov said that the parties would set up dialogue to protect the rights of Ukrainian citizens and that there would an amnesty for pro-Russian demonstrators who had participated in the insurrection against the government in Kiev. This agreement, signed by all four parties, may lead to a freezing of the sanctions that the United States and EU are preparing to issue against Russia. (FG)