France has voiced concern over rising cease-fire violations in eastern Ukraine between Kyiv's forces and pro-Russia separatists.
The French Foreign Ministry statement on April 11 comes days after the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said its observers monitoring the cease-fire had been shot at for the second time in a week.
"The recent incidents targeting monitors close to the contact line are not acceptable," the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement, urging both sides to guarantee OSCE access to their respective areas.
"The situation can only be stabilized by the full application of the Minsk agreement," it said, referring to the peace deal backed by Kyiv, its Western allies, and Moscow.
The conflict has killed more than 9,100 since April 2014.
Late on April 9, the OSCE said a group of its monitors had been shot at in Zhovanka, northeast of the city of Donetsk, which is controlled by pro-Russia separatists.The report did not say who fired the shots.
OSCE observers were also shot at on April 7. No one was wounded in either incident.
On April 10,spokesperson for EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini condemned the recent incidents targeting OSCE observers as "unacceptable," calling on all sides to "refrain from such actions."
