German Foreign Minister Steinmeier has urged all sides in the Ukraine conflict to respect a ceasefire deal struck two months ago. The EU and US have voiced concern over an unmarked military convoy spotted in the region, reports GHN based on DW.
During a visit to Kazakhstan on Monday, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said there was a danger the military situation in rebel-held eastern Ukraine could again deteriorate.
His comments came after the eastern city of Donetsk on Sunday was hit by some of the heaviest shelling since a ceasefire agreement was signed in the Belarusian capital Minsk on September 5.
"Unfortunately, the situation is again serious," Steinmeier told reporters in the former Soviet republic's capital, Astana. "I now think that we must call upon all those involved in this conflict, as well as the Russian side, to return again to the terms of the Minsk protocol."
The truce agreement has been frequently violated by bombardments and battles around strategic hotspots, like the separatist stronghold of Donetsk. It has, however, prevented large-scale confrontations in other parts of the conflict zone. Journalists in Donetsk reported a significant escalation in heavy artillery fire from both government and rebel forces in the city over the weekend.
Some 4,000 people have died in the Ukraine conflict since April, according to figures from the United Nations.