POTSDAM, September 1. /TASS/. The truce declared in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass on September 1 is holding, but it is too early to speak about long-term results, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in Potsdam on Thursday.
"The first observations show that military activity along the disengagement line is dwindling. This is encouraging and we can hope that the first days of the beginning of the school year will be peaceful," the foreign minister stated.
"This is not enough. As the OSCE chairperson-in-office, I understand that our task is not just maintaining the ceasefire regime. It is important to see the OSCE monitoring mission continue its activity," the German diplomat noted.
However, the diplomat pointed out that the Ukraine crisis continues being a source of concern.
The OSCE "is the only organization in Europe where Russia and the West can conduct a dialogue despite all conflicts and contradictions," the German foreign minister stressed.
"It is not surprising that we discussed the conflict in Ukraine at our today’s meeting. Naturally, I am concerned with the state of implementation of the Minsk Agreements. It is important that all the sides are referring to ‘Minsk’ and consider the Minsk agreements to be the foundation for conducting the talks," Steinmeier said.