MOSCOW — Russia and Germany both expressed concern Friday about violations of the cease-fire in eastern Ukraine and the risk of a new escalation of the conflict. A spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry describing it as "a case of dangerous brinkmanship."
Sergey Lavrov and Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the foreign ministers of the two countries, spoke by telephone about the need for full implementation of the cease-fire agreement reached in February, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said Friday that its monitors continued to observe cease-fire violations, including the use of heavy weapons, tanks and smaller-caliber weapons. The OSCE said most of the violence they observed occurred in residential areas, where military positions continue to endanger civilian lives.
German Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer said Germany is watching the renewed violence between Ukrainian government troops and Russia-backed separatists "with the utmost concern."
"The repeated breach of the cease-fire agreed in Minsk is a case of dangerous brinkmanship in our view," he said.
Fischer said Germany is calling on both sides to observe the cease-fire agreement and is in touch with all sides "to prevent the current situation from escalating further."
The fighting in eastern Ukraine between government troops and Russia-backed separatists has killed at least 6,400 people since it began in April 2014.
