The leaders of France, Germany and Russia backed a new ceasefire in eastern Ukraine in a three-way phone call on Saturday, but offered contrasting views of why February's peace deal is in trouble. Daily clashes between the two forces killing civilians, Ukrainian soldiers and separatists, have undermined the deal struck in the Belarus capital Minsk. Both sides have blamed the other for the violations.
In separate statements, France's Francois Hollande and Germany's Angela Merkel said the three leaders backed efforts to reinstate an effective ceasefire, while a statement by Russia's President Vladimir Putin blamed Kiev for failing to implement key terms of the peace deal. Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists agreed on August 26 to strive for an end to all truce violations from next Tuesday, the OSCE and rebel representatives have said. "There was agreement that the Minsk agreements remain the basis for an improvement of the situation in the Donbass region (eastern Ukraine)," the German statement said.