Russia, Germany urge full implementation of Minsk agreement

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, on Wednesday urged the conflicting sides in Ukraine to fully implement the Minsk peace agreement.

The two foreign ministers stressed that only the unconditional and systematic implementation of the Minsk agreement could stabilize the situation in eastern Ukraine, according to an official transcript released by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

"We emphasized the need for paying special attention to such key aspect as the establishment of a direct dialogue between Kiev and Donbass regions, which is necessary to address the political problems related with the special status of Donbass, the organization of elections and real amnesty," said Lavrov, using a Russian term for Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine.

Lavrov blamed Kiev for what he said excuses for violations of the Minsk agreement, and denied allegations of Russia deploying troops in Ukraine.

Steinmeier noted that measures should be taken to monitor the actual weapon withdrawal, the mine-clearing operations and the disengagement of military units.

Steinmeier warned of instability in eastern Ukraine and the possibility of conflict escalation.

Foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany agreed in Paris on March 4 that elections should be held in eastern Ukraine by the end of June.

The Paris meeting was part of the implementation of the Minsk agreement, signed in February 2015 in the Belarusian capital with the mediation of France and Germany.

The accord calls for a cease-fire along with a range of political, economic and social measures aimed to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

The crisis in eastern Ukraine began in April 2014, when Kiev launched offensives against insurgents in a bid to retake the cities and towns they seized. The conflict has claimed more than 9,000 lives and wounded over 21,000 others. Endi