BRUSSELS, August 30 (RIA Novosti) - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Saturday that he expects to see progress in peace talks on eastern Ukrainian crisis settlement in a few days.
"We are waiting that in the very next days, starting from Monday, we can demonstrate the real progress in the peace negotiations,” Poroshenko said following the talks with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso in Brussels.
He explained that saying that the point of no return to the peace plan was too close to continue the conflict.
“Let’s try not to spark a new flame of war in Europe,” Poroshenko urged.
Russia has repeatedly called to end bloodshed in southeastern Ukraine, and urged to launch a comprehensive dialogue. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov mentioned that the bilateral ceasefire must be unconditional, noting that Kiev was constantly trying to impose its own terms for it.
Since mid-April, Kiev has been conducting a military operation against the southeastern regions of Ukraine that had refused to recognize the legitimacy of the new government after the February coup. Kiev’s “punitive operation” has claimed the lives of 2,220 people and injured about 6,000 between mid-April and August 17, according to the UN report published Friday.
