Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier insist on fully empowering the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (OSCE SMM) to monitor the withdrawal of weapons in eastern Ukraine and observe the situation on the Ukrainian-Russian border.

"Pavlo Klimkin and Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed hope for Russia's constructive approach toward the attainment of the key objectives of the Minsk process, such as the withdrawal of heavy weapons, the de-escalation around Shyrokyne, and the intensification of the process of exchanging hostages," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry press service said in commenting on a meeting between Klimkin and Steinmeier in Kyiv on Friday.

"The ministers emphasized that there is no alternative to the Minsk agreements to reinstate peace and stability in Donbas," it said.

"The holding of free and transparent local elections in certain districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in keeping with the OSCE standards is an important element of this process," it said.