(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday spoke via phone to his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and "pressed (him) to stop Russian and separatist attacks on Ukrainian positions in Debaltseve and other violations of the ceasefire," State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki said.
"The secretary urged Russia to secure access to Debaltseve for the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) monitors who have been blocked from performing their responsibilities, according to Minsk agreements Russia signed in February and last September," she told reporters.
"They also briefly discussed Libya, Syria and the Summit on Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) that we are hosting here in Washington," she noted.
Asked if last week's ceasefire deal brokered by France and Germany has failed, Psaki responded: "We don't consider it is dead, no." "We remain focused on supporting the implementation of this agreement. Obviously, if the separatist violence continues, if Russia and the separatists do not implement the agreement, if fighters and equipment continue to flow into Ukraine from Russia, more costs will be imposed, and there will certainly be a serious discussion within the international community," she said.
"We believe that we need to give it some time to continue to have the agreement implemented. Obviously, there are some violations. And is it perfect? No. But we don't think the alternative or the right option is to take steps that would hurt the implementation of agreement," Psaki continued.
"The Ukrainian government, as a sovereign government, has the right to make decisions about how to protect their people. The lines that both sides are required to withdraw to still remain part of the agreement. But, obviously, we look at events on the ground and determine how to proceed from there," she added.
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