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Developments in eastern Ukraine

French president says violations of ceasefire regime in Ukraine unacceptable

"There is a risk that the fire of conflict may flare again, and we should prevent this," the French president stressed

French President Francois Hollande EPA/MICHEL EULER / POOL

French President Francois Hollande

© EPA/MICHEL EULER / POOL

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PARIS, May 14. /TASS/. French President Francois Hollande has described Thursday as "unacceptable" violations of ceasefire regime in Ukraine after talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Germany’s Aachen.

"Violations of ceasefire agreements are happening today, and this is unacceptable," Hollande said. "There is a risk that the fire of conflict may flare again, and we should prevent this," the French president stressed.

Ceasefire is one of the key point of the Minsk agreements on the Ukrainian settlement. Other points include heavy weaponry withdrawal, prisoner exchange, local elections in Donbas and constitutional reform in Ukraine.

The Minsk accords were signed on February 12, after negotiations in the so-called Normandy format in the Belarusian capital Minsk, bringing together Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko. The talks lasted for around 14 hours. Simultaneously, a meeting of the Contact Group on Ukrainian settlement was held in Minsk.

The Ukrainian forces and the self-defense forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics have repeatedly accused each other of violating ceasefire and other points of the Minsk agreements.

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Eastern Ukraine Pyotr Poroshenko Francois Hollande

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