Video PlayerClose

PARIS, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- The recent killing of a pro-Russian rebel leader in eastern Ukraine would not call into question Minsk agreements aimed at ending large-scale hostilities there, French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Agnes von der Muhll said Monday.

"The latest developments in eastern Ukraine are unlikely to undermine the parties' obligations under the Minsk agreements or the pertinence of the Normandy-format meetings between France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine," she said.

"It is precisely when tensions arise that negotiations must begin in good faith," she added.

Alexander Zakharchenko, the elected leader of the independence-seeking Donetsk, part of the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine, was killed in an explosion on Friday at a local cafe.

On Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said it made the Normandy format talks impossible to continue, noting "This is a blatant provocation aimed at hindering the implementation of the Minsk agreements," which were reached during the four-way Ukraine talks.

The Minsk agreements consist of a first protocol that the Ukrainian government and the rebels reached under the mediation of Russia, France and Germany in September 2014 in the Belarussian capital of Minsk, and a more detailed renewal of the agreement was signed in February 2015.

The Minsk agreements envisage a cease-fire, a withdrawal of heavy weaponry from the contact line, a prisoner exchange, and holding local elections in Donbas, among other measures. However, the cease-fire pact has never been fully implemented.