German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has accused Ukraine and Russia of lacking sincerity during nine hours of negotiations in Paris over the crisis in eastern Ukraine.
"I am not satisfied with the way Kiev and Moscow are operating the negotiations here," said Steinmeier late on Thursday after meeting with top diplomats from France, Russia and Ukraine.
"I'm afraid the situation in eastern Ukraine really isn't being viewed seriously enough and that it can escalate again at any time," he said.
The foreign ministers met in an effort to come closer to achieving peace in eastern Ukraine as Kiev struggles with a flare-up in political infighting.
The talks, brokered by the French and German foreign ministers, also were to address Ukraine's ability to fulfil political stipulations of the ceasefire agreement, which was clinched last year for Ukraine's two eastern-most regions.
The ceasefire, agreed between the presidents of Russia and Ukraine in Minsk, included a requirement that Ukraine grant more autonomy to the two conflict-ridden regions, where pro-Russian separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces since mid-2014.
In addition to the fragile ceasefire, the ministers discussed an election law for the area controlled by the separatists. Steinmeier said he was far from satisfied with the law.
Turmoil in Ukraine's central government has put some stipulations in jeopardy, as the federal parliament is responsible for passing the pertinent legislation.
Last month, Ukraine's ruling coalition lost its legislative majority in parliament.
President Petro Poroshenko called for Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk to resign and the prime minister narrowly survived a vote to oust him.
More than 8000 people have died in the Ukraine conflict, according to estimates by the United Nations.
The conflict erupted after Ukraine ousted its former pro-Russian president amid mass protests calling for closer ties with the EU.
