UNITED NATIONS, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Wednesday expressed grave concern about the recent deterioration of the security situation in eastern Ukraine and its severe impact on the civilian population.
In a presidential statement adopted Wednesday morning, the Council condemned the continuous violations of the cease-fire regime, especially the use of heavy weapons prohibited by the Minsk Agreements, responsible for "tragic" deaths, including among civilians.
The conflict in east Ukraine erupted in April 2014 after Crimea was incorporated into Russia in March 2014 following a local referendum. Ukraine says the peninsula was annexed. The Minsk Agreements signed in the Belarus capital in 2015 has helped reduce hostilities.
Wednesday's statement called for the implementation of disengagement commitments and the immediate withdrawal of heavy weapons in accordance with the peace agreements.
It also emphasized the need for scaling up efforts to alleviate suffering of the civilian population affected by the conflict.
Moreover, the Council expressed its support to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine and called on all the parties to facilitate its work.
It recalled its support for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and underlined the need for strict compliance with resolution 2202 adopted in 2015, which endorsed a package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk Agreements.
In order to progress in this regard, the Council encouraged all the parties to recommit to the peace process and to implement all the measures agreed in the Normandy format (Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine) and the Trilateral Contact Group (Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE), two mechanisms dedicated to resolving the eastern Ukraine conflict.
