KIEV, September 1 (RIA Novosti) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko intends to raise the issue of recognizing the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics as terrorist organizations during his upcoming visit to the United States, the president’s press service said in a statement Monday.
“Petro Poroshenko and [US Senator] Robert Menendez discussed the visit of the Ukrainian President to the United States planned for the second part of September and the scheduled meetings with US executives. The Head of State intends to raise the issue of recognizing the so-called DPR and LPR terrorist organizations in the course of his visit to the United States,” the statement says.
Speaking to Poroshenko in Kiev on Monday, Menendez, who is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the Ukrainian crisis is “an issue of global security”, according to the statement.
During the talks, Poroshenko informed of his plan to visit the NATO Summit, which will be held in the United Kingdom on September 4-5, to hold negotiations on the coordination of future actions in relation to the Ukrainian crisis.
"It is crucially important for Ukraine to receive assistance in its struggle for freedom, democracy and sovereignty," Poroshenko said as quoted by the press service.
Since April, Kiev authorities have been conducting a special military operation against independence supporters in eastern Ukraine, who refused to recognize the legitimacy of new Ukrainian government after the February coup.
Almost 2,600 people have died since the Kiev’s military operation started, and about 6,000 have been injured, according to UN figures.
Moscow has repeatedly condemned Kiev’s military actions in the east of Ukraine, called for an immediate stop to the bloodshed and has stressed that the crisis can only be resolved through peaceful dialogue.
