OSCE Chief Calls For Trust-Building To End Crises In East Ukraine

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) says it remains “deeply concerned” over continuing cease-fire violations in eastern Ukraine.

Addressing the UN Security Council on February 29 as chair of the OSCE, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier urged Kyiv and Moscow to “live up to their responsibilities” and abide by the terms of the Minsk peace agreement signed a year ago.

Implementing the deal is the only way to a political solution in Ukraine, Steinmeier said.

He said foreign ministers from France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine would meet in Paris on March 3 to try to achieve progress on the security situation and a new electoral law for eastern Ukraine, where fighting between Russian-Backed separatists and government forces has killed more than 9,000 people since April 2014.

The February 2015 peace agreement has helped reduce fighting in Ukraine's east, but skirmishes have continued.

Based on reporting by AP and dpa