The foreign ministry of Belarus, which has been hosting Ukraine peace talks, says the much-anticipated round of negotiations on Friday has been scrapped.

Ministry spokesman Dmitry Mironchik told The Associated Press that the talks broke down, but did not give a reason.

The opening round was held on Wednesday, one day after Ukraine's decision to drop its nonaligned status, which added a new element of tension to the attempts to resolve the violent crisis in the country.

The talks were to discuss how to improve an often-violated cease-fire that was declared in September, the withdrawal of heavy weapons and the exchange of prisoners. The negotiators included representatives of Ukraine, Russia, the rebels and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

AP

(China Daily 12/27/2014 page12)