Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called Monday on Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin to implement the cease-fire between government forces and pro-Russian separatists in the eastern part of Ukraine, as fighting persists.
"All parties concerned must make good the Minsk agreement and make sure that the cease-fire is in place," Abe was quoted by Foreign Ministry officials as telling Klimkin.
Concerns linger over the implementation of the agreement that was struck last month in the capital of Belarus as fighting has continued in parts of Ukraine.