(VOVworld) – The foreign ministers of France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine met in Paris on Tuesday to talk about an eastern Ukraine peace settlement.

A Ukrainian Grad rocket unit near Debaltseve

This is their first meeting since they reached an agreement on the issue in Minsk on February 12^th calling for a complete ceasefire starting on February 15^th, and a withdrawal of heavy weapons from the front line between February 17^th and March 3^rd.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the four ministers agreed on the need for the ceasefire to be respected as well as on the need to extend the OSCE mission in eastern Ukraine.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he hopes the Contact Group on Ukraine will support the Minsk agreements and humanitarian aid for eastern Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia will co-operate with the 3 other countries to extend the OSCE mission’s mandate with additional personnel, equipment, and finance.