| 1 | MOSCOW - Russia and Germany both expressed concern Friday about violations of the cease-fire in eastern Ukraine and the risk of a new escalation of the conflict. |
| 2 | A spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry describing it as "a case of dangerous brinkmanship." |
| 3 | Sergey Lavrov and Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the foreign ministers of the two countries, spoke by telephone about the need for full implementation of the cease-fire agreement reached in February, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. |
| 4 | The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said Friday that its monitors continued to observe cease-fire violations, including the use of heavy weapons, tanks and smaller-caliber weapons. |
| 5 | The OSCE said most of the violence they observed occurred in residential areas, where military positions continue to endanger civilian lives. |
| 6 | German Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer said Germany is watching the renewed violence between Ukrainian government troops and Russia-backed separatists "with the utmost concern." |
| 7 | "The repeated breach of the cease-fire agreed in Minsk is a case of dangerous brinkmanship in our view," he said. |
| 8 | Fischer said Germany is calling on both sides to observe the cease-fire agreement and is in touch with all sides "to prevent the current situation from escalating further." |
| 9 | The fighting in eastern Ukraine between government troops and Russia-backed separatists has killed at least 6,400 people since it began in April 2014. |