OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and German Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has expressed satisfaction with the recent lull in violence in eastern Ukraine, reads a statement posted on the website on the OSCE.

"I am pleased that, based on the observations of the OSCE, the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine has been holding again for several days now and that no more serious incidents have occurred in the conflict zones," Steinmeier said.

In his words, that gives hope that the conflicting parties will also tackle the other difficult steps that still need to be taken to fully implement the Minsk agreement, with a willingness to find constructive solutions which will help overcome the crisis and defuse the conflict in the long term.

"I am determined not to relax our efforts to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv within the Normandy format and to now also use Germany's Chairmanship of the OSCE to this end," the minister said.

Germany will chair the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2016.