Steinmeier says Russia, Ukraine agree to double OSCE observers

RIGA (Reuters) - Russia and Ukraine have agreed to double the number of OSCE observers to 1,000 from 500 to monitor a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Friday. Steinmeier said the agreement was reached after a discussion at the Foreign Ministry in Berlin of officials from Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany. He also said that the observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) should get access to locations where heavy weapons are being stored. Steinmeier is in Riga for a meeting of European Union foreign ministers. On Monday the leaders of Russia, Germany and France agreed to Ukraine's proposal to ask the OSCE to help with the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in eastern Ukraine. (Reporting by Tom Koerkemeier; writing by Erik Kirschbaum)