KHABAROVSK, August 31 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday he came to terms with his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko that the crisis in Ukraine will be resolved in a peaceful manner.
"I think that it is a very good lesson for all of us, a lesson to end this tragedy as quickly as possible, and by peaceful means and through negotiation, as we have agreed, by the way, with Petro Oleksiyovych [Poroshenko], and to never repeat such mistakes, which have been recently made in Ukraine during the armed seizure of power. Indeed, it is the root cause of what is happening now," Putin said in an interview with Russia’s Channel One.
It is necessary to start the substantial negotiations with southeastern regions of Ukraine to de-escalate the crisis there, Putin added.
On Friday, Poroshenko said he expects that implementation of his peace plan for the crisis in eastern Ukraine can stop the war in the region in early September.
Since mid-April the Ukrainian government has been conducting a military operation in the east of Ukraine to suppress independence supporters, who refused to acknowledge the new government that came to power after a coup in February. The fighting intensified after Donetsk and Luhansk regions proclaimed independence in May.
Over 2,500 people, including the victims of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash, have been killed and more than 6,000 injured since the start of Kiev’s military operation in eastern Ukraine, according to the United Nations.
Russia has repeatedly condemned the operation and urged Kiev to stop the bloodshed in the region.
