PARIS
French, German, Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers have called for the implementation of the Minsk cease-fire agreement and reinforcement of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said after a three-hour meeting with his German, Ukrainian and Russian counterparts in Paris on Tuesday that both sides in the conflict had to "start with a total cease-fire and complete withdrawal of heavy weapons".
Fabius said: "We, the four ministers, call for the strict implementation of all provisions of the Minsk agreements."
"All parties should allow the monitors complete access to areas under their control, and cooperate with them so they verify the withdrawal of heavy weapons."
Truce deal
Fabius said the Normandy Quartet ministers had agreed the OSCE should be reinforced with additional personnel, equipment and financing.
A cease-fire was signed between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists in Minsk on Feb. 12.
The cease-fire agreement includes the withdrawal of heavy weaponry from combat areas, the withdrawal of all foreign-armed formations and release of all hostages and unlawfully detained persons, as well as political reforms and decentralization in the eastern Ukrainian regions.
The OSCE said last week that it had not seen either side complying with the truce.
Fierce fighting
Pro-Russian separatists took the control of the key railway hub of Debaltseve on Feb. 18 after days of fierce fighting and have been attempting to take over the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol since Friday.
Ukrainian government forces and separatists in eastern Ukraine agreed on Sunday to withdraw heavy weapons by March 7.
The agreement came a day after 139 Ukrainian troops were released in a prisoners-of-war exchange deal between the two sides.
More than 5,300 people have been killed and 12,200 others injured in eastern Ukraine since mid-April last year in the ongoing conflict, according to the UN high commissioner for human rights.
www.aa.com.tr/en
