Germany's Merkel says truce in eastern Ukraine not being respected

German Chancellor Angela Merkel smiles during a news conference with U.S. President Barack Obama (unseen) after their talks at Schloss Herrenhausen in Hanover, Germany April 24, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

HANOVER, Germany (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday that a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine was not stable, adding that she and U.S. President Barack Obama had discussed ways to ensure the Minsk peace deal is implemented.

"We stand by the agreement of Minsk and put a lot of importance on its implementation as soon as possible," Merkel said. "We still have no stable ceasefire and we must advance on the political process and we discussed in detail the next steps needed."

(Reporting by Andreas Rinke; Writing by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Noah Barkin)