FMs urge ceasefire in east Ukraine after Berlin talks

Foreign ministers of Germany, France, Russia, and Ukraine called Wednesday on all sides involved in Ukraine crisis to cease hostilities after concluding the latest four-way talks over Ukraine in Berlin.

The four top diplomats continued on Wednesday night their discussion about the way toward a peaceful settlement of the crisis in eastern Ukraine, according to a statement of the German Foreign Ministry.

As for the deteriorated situation in eastern Ukraine with a flare-up of new fighting in recent days, the foreign ministers voiced their serious concern, saying all actors should fully respect the regime and restore the truce.

They called on "all sides involved to cease hostilities and withdraw heavy weapons" back from demarcation line as stipulated in the Annex to the Minsk Memorandum, which was signed on Sept. 19, 2014.

The ministers reiterated that tangible progress on a full implementation of the Minsk agreements should be achieved ahead of a planned summit in Astana, including an effective ceasefire and an agreed way for delivering humanitarian aid to the region as well as continued release of detainees. Under the agreements, the Ukrainian government forces and pro-independence insurgents would pull back their heavy arms 15 kilometers on either side of the demarcation line.

A joint call was made to all signatories of the Minsk agreements to meet in the coming days to implement the ceasefire and withdrawal of heavy weapons.

The ministers also reiterated their support for the trilateral contact group on Ukraine conflict, and called upon it to establish working groups on relevant aspects of the Minsk agreements. Endi