A senior U.S. diplomat says a cease-fire deal in eastern Ukraine "is being violated on a daily basis."
U.S. Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland spoke on May 18 after talks in Moscow with Russian officials.
Nuland said the violations of the Western-brokered agreement signed in February in Minsk by Ukraine and the pro-Russian rebels "need to stop."
Nuland suggested that pro-Russian rebels were responsible for the bulk of the violations, which occurred "on the western side of the Minsk line."
She called for OSCE monitors to be allowed in the conflict zone to verify how the cease-fire is being implemented.
Nuland, who arrived in Moscow on May 17 from Ukraine, met with Russian Deputy Foreign Ministers Sergei Ryabkov and Grigory Karasin.
She said her discussions with the two were "very detailed...very pragmatic," and were centered around ways that the United States might be able to support the implementation of the Minsk deal.
The visit comes after Secretary of State John Kerry met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last week.
Nuland also met with veteran human rights campaigner Lyudmila Alekseyeva.
The visit comes after Secretary of State John Kerry met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last week.
Asked on May 18 if the visit was a sign of improving ties, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists, "Yes, when President Putin was meeting with Minister Lavrov and Secretary of State Kerry...it was mentioned that a closer dialogue...was needed."