Russian President Vladimir Putin after talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Minsk, Belarus, last week. Associated Press
MOSCOW—The Ukrainian president's office said Wednesday that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to a cease-fire regime in eastern Ukraine. The Kremlin took issue with that wording, saying the two leaders only discussed steps toward peace.


"Putin and [President Petro] Poroshenko did discuss steps that would facilitate a cease-fire between the rebels and the Ukrainian forces," the RIA Novosti news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying from Mongolia, where he is on an official visit with Mr. Putin. "But Russia physically can't negotiate a cease-fire because it isn't a party to the conflict."
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It wasn't immediately clear whether the differences reflected diplomatic semantics—admitting that Mr. Putin had agreed to such a deal would contradict months of Kremlin assertions that they don't control the separatists in Ukraine—or a more fundamental disagreement. Neither side provided details of what was agreed to.
Adding to the confusion, Mr. Poroshenko's website amended the text of its initial statement to change "agreement on a permanent cease-fire" to "agreement on a cease-fire regime," though it provided no explanation for the change.
It also wasn't clear whether the rebels would agree to any deal. Andrei Purgin, the Donetsk rebel leader who has been holding negotiations with Kiev in recent days, told RIA Novosti that Mr. Poroshenko had not reached an agreement with the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic.
"This is some kind of game being played by Kiev," Mr. Purgin said. "For us, it's a complete surprise. This decision was taken without us." He said that a cease-fire couldn't be agreed to until Ukrainian troops leave rebel territory.
Moscow has long said that it isn't involved directly in fighting, but Kiev and Western capitals say the Kremlin has provided fighters and arms for the separatists and in recent weeks deployed troops there to fight Ukrainian forces.
Russian officials had been stepping up demands that Ukraine negotiate a political truce with the rebel leaders, putting pressure on an increasingly weak-looking Kiev government.
With his army in retreat amid the influx of Russian soldiers and heavy weapons, Mr. Poroshenko has been facing a tough choice between making concessions to Kremlin-backed separatists or fighting a bloody defensive war.
Russian stocks rallied and the ruble strengthen on the news. Micex was up 3.1% at 1,443.17, with state-controlled banks and energy companies posting the sharpest gains. The ruble strengthened by 1.3% against the U.S. dollar to 36.97 rubles.
But President Barack Obama, in Estonia to reassure a region unsettled by Russia, said it's too early to tell what the reported cease-fire means, expressing skepticism about Moscow's willingness to follow through.
Russia has proved in the past that it wasn't serious about reaching a settlement or pretended that it's not controlling the separatists, he said.
"There's an opportunity here," Mr. Obama said. "Let's see if there's follow-up."