NATO chief Stoltenberg says there has been a "serious military buildup" in eastern Ukraine and on the Russian side of the border, calls on Russia to "pull back its troops and contribute to a peaceful agreement." -- Reuters/AFP
A parting shot?
From the joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier and Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk in Kyiv (via Reuters):
Steinmeier:
"This is one of the reasons why I am here in Kyiv after this past weekend where a lot talks took place in Brisbane with Russian President [Vladimir Putin], also between the German Chancellor [Angela Merkel] and Mr. Putin. After talks with [Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko], I will leave this afternoon to see whether the talks in Brisbane created an atmosphere which would allow for work on more concrete implementations of the Minsk agreement."
Yatsenyuk:
"The basic points of [the Minsk agreement] -- namely the restoration of control over the Ukrainian-Russian border, ceasing of weapons supply from the Russian Federation to Ukrainian territory and withdrawal of the Russian army and Russian terrorists from the Ukrainian territory -- have not been fulfilled."
Yatsenyuk:
"Since we don't have another agenda except for the Minsk agreement, Russia must fulfil what it signed and what it promised to the whole world."