Merkel and Macron said they were concerned that the security situation in eastern Ukraine had not significantly improved, and were keeping a close watch on the situation, Reuters reported.
“We urge President Putin and President Poroshenko to fully respect their commitments, to support the ceasefire in a public and clear manner, and to ensure that appropriate instructions have been sent to the military and local forces,” they said in a joint statement issued by the chancellery in Berlin.
The ceasefire agreement was signed in February 2015 in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, but has failed to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine, in which some 10,000 people have been killed.
Read alsoNormandy Four leaders issue joint statement following phone talksAs UNIAN reported earlier, on August 22 Poroshenko held a telephone conversation with the President of France, Federal Chancellor of Germany and President of the Russian Federation, during which the interlocutors expressed support for the announcement of the ceasefire in Donbas in connection with the beginning of school year.
On August 23, the Tripartite Contact Group for Donbas settlement confirmed full adherence to the indefinite "school-year" ceasefire from midnight on August 25.
Read alsoPoroshenko insists on 24/7 format of OSCE monitoring in DonbasAt the same time, First Principal Chairman of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, Alexander Hug, stated on Monday, August 28, that over 600 ceasefire violations had been recorded since the start of the latest truce.
