“I told all of my interlocutors that France will continue its diplomatic efforts in close contact with Germany within the Normandy format in order to achieve full implementation of the Minsk agreements.
These efforts are still needed to reduce tensions and resolve the Ukrainian crisis, ”TASS quoted him as saying.
He also "underlined France's deep concern over the recent significant movements of Russian troops near the eastern border of Ukraine, as well as in Crimea."
“France considers it important and urgent for Russia to be able in a transparent manner, for example, through the mechanisms provided for in the OSCE, to clarify the nature and purpose of these movements,” he said.
Earlier, the head of the self-proclaimed DPR Denis Pushilin announced the deterioration of the situation on the contact line in Donbass.
According to him, the amount of equipment, which is concentrated along the line from the Ukrainian side, suggests that Ukraine is ready to resume full-scale hostilities.
On April 8, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held telephone conversations and discussed the situation in Donbass.