Mogherini in Vilnius: Ukraine truce still in place

“Indeed, in the last weeks the ceasefire is holding, still there are other points that we need to see realized in the coming months, starting with the need for having local elections according to the rules, the provisions of the Minsk agreements and obviously the laws of Ukraine itself,” she told journalists in Vilnius.

The new ceasefire agreement came in force in Ukraine in early September. Kiev states the truce is in fact holding.

Local elections in Ukraine are scheduled for October 25 but pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine plan to hold elections a week earlier than Kiev in the eastern region of Donetsk and a week later in Luhansk.

Mogherini believes the crisis in the Middle East should not shift the focus from Ukraine.

“The situation in the south and in the Middle East should not overshadow the fact that in Ukraine we have a conflict going on, still we have a difficult implementation of the Minsk agreements,” she said.

Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affaris Linas Linkevicius told a joint press conference that the crisis in Ukraine was not completely resolved and, therefore, the West should continue putting pressure together.

“We probably have the only good sign is that we have fewer shooting incidents. But, unfortunately, other example, do not show the irreversible solution of this crisis. We have to keep a united and solidary position and continue putting pressure for the situation to change for the better,” the Lithuanian minister said.

UN figures show around the conflict in eastern Ukraine has cost around 8,000 lives since April 2014.