Poroshenko Says Ukraine Fighting 'Must End This Week'
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Ukraine’s new President Petro Poroshenko said that fighting between pro-Kremlin separatists and government forces in the east of the country must stop by the end of the week.
"We must end the fighting this week. For me, every day in which people die, every day in which Ukraine pays such a high price, is unacceptable," Poroshenko said in a statement published on his official website.
"And to do that, we must restore the Ukrainian border so that the safety of each Ukrainian citizen is guaranteed."
Clashes between government forces and heavily armed pro-Russia militants have claimed scores of lives since the separatist insurgency began in eastern Ukraine eight weeks ago, AFP reported.
His comments followed a round of talks with Moscow's ambassador to Kiev and an envoy from the Vienna-based Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and came a day after the 48-year-old chocolate tycoon was sworn into office as the fifth post-Soviet president of Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin issued orders on Saturday for security at the mutual border to be stepped up - a move demanded by both US President Barack Obama and several European heads of state.
