BERLIN
Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has urged Ukraine and Russia to fulfill their promises and implement the Minsk cease-fire agreement signed between the parties on September 5.
Following talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk in Kiev on Tuesday, Steinmeier said: "The Minsk agreement remains a basic reference and I urge that we keep working on its implementation.
"We must now work on persuading all sides to implement the Minsk agreement, step by step."
Steinmeier was visiting the Ukrainian capital amid growing fears of a return to all-out conflict in eastern Ukraine.
He was scheduled to travel to Moscow later in the day.
The conflict in Eastern Ukraine has escalated since pro-separatist elections were held in the eastern part of the country on November 2.
- Thousands dead
The EU denounced the poll as illegitimate, and said it undermined efforts to resolve the conflict, while Russia recognized it.
Steinmeier underlined Germany’s support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty during a joint press conference with Yatsenyuk.
Yatsenyuk blamed Russia for violating the Minsk protocol and accused Moscow of providing arms to pro-Russian separatists.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government said on Tuesday that six Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in the past 24 hours.
Between mid-April and October 6, at least 3,600 people have died and 8,700 have been wounded during the conflict, the UN Human Rights Office said in a report last month.
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