Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to temporarily recognize passports issued by rebels in Ukraine violates the Minsk peace agreement, a German government spokesman said on Monday. 

"The recognition of travel documents issued by the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic undermines the unity of Ukraine and is a stark contradiction to all that was agreed in Minsk and is therefore totally unacceptable," Steffen Seibert said during a regular government news conference in Berlin. 

A foreign ministry spokesman added that German authorities would not recognize the documents. 

Putin ordered Russian authorities on Saturday to temporarily recognise civil registration documents issued in separatist-held areas of eastern Ukraine, a decision also strongly criticised by Ukraine's president. -- REUTERS