Merkel, Macron call for peaceful settlement in Ukraine

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron have urged the parties involved in fighting in eastern Ukraine to urgently implement agreed ceasefire actions.

Fighting in the region has escalated to the worst level in months, officials monitoring the conflict said on Tuesday.

Ukrainian officials, security monitors and Kiev’s foreign backers warned a day later that Moscow’s decision to withdraw from a Ukrainian-Russian ceasefire control group could worsen the situation.

Macron and Merkel said in a statement there was no alternative to an exclusively peaceful settlement and called for a return of the Russian officers to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination. Russia had accused the Ukrainian side of obstructing their work and limiting access to the front line.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron confer during a G20 leaders summit in Hamburg, Germany on July 8. /Reuters Photo

"In the light of the volatile security situation, they ask the sides for immediate and verifiable steps to remedy this situation," the statement by Macron and Merkel said.

"It is necessary to implement agreements on disengagement and the withdrawal of heavy weapons behind the agreed withdrawal lines, withdrawal of tanks, artillery and mortars to the agreed storage sites.

"Other aspects of the Minsk agreements, like the withdrawal of foreign armed formations or the return of control over the Russian-Ukrainian border need to be addressed seriously as well."

Meanwhile, the US State Department announced Friday that Washington had "decided to provide Ukraine enhanced defensive capabilities as part of our effort to help Ukraine build its long-term defense capacity."

Moscow on Saturday said Washington was encouraging "new bloodshed" in eastern Ukraine by its decision to provide Kiev with "enhanced defensive capabilities."

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters