BRUSSELS, March 30. /TASS/. The ceasefire in eastern Ukraine is not respected, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday at a press conference following a Russia-NATO Council meeting.

"We have a ceasefire on paper but it does not function in reality," he said. "It is an argument in favor of making sure that we make our utmost to make sure that the ceasefire is respected on the ground," Stoltenberg added.

According to him, "ceasefire violations in eastern Ukraine have reached record levels, intense fighting continues and heavy weapons have not been withdrawn."

The NATO secretary general said that the best way to implement the ceasefire was "to make sure that international observers have full access to the area, partly to inspect the ceasefire but also partly to inspect that heavy weapons are withdrawn from the contact line."