Germany says Minsk ceasefire has reduced violence in east Ukraine

BERLIN (Reuters) - The Minsk ceasefire deal brokered by the leaders of Germany and France last month has lead to a de-escalation of the violence in east Ukraine, a government spokesman said on Monday.

"Since we agreed on the package of measures in February in Minsk, we can say that use of military violence in east Ukraine has significantly decreased," Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert told a regular government news conference.