MOSCOW, September 12 (RIA Novosti) - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will speak at the Atlantic Council on September 18 as part of his first official visit to the United States as Ukraine's leader, the Atlantic Council said on its website.
Poroshenko will address an invitation-only audience following his meeting with US President Barack Obama and his address to a Joint Session of Congress. Poroshenko will present his vision of the assistance that Ukraine should receive from the United States and the transatlantic community.
In the lead-up to the visit the United States has continued accusing Russia of escalating the conflict in Ukraine and of supporting pro-independence fighters. Moscow denies these accusations.
The United States has already promised to broaden its support, which includes military assistance, to the Ukrainian authorities. However, it will not imply weapons supply and granting Ukraine the status of major non-NATO ally.
Since mid-April, Kiev has been carrying out a military operation against the pro-independence movement in the country's southeast. According to the latest UN estimates, over 2,700 people have been killed in the fighting. During the meeting of the Contact Group on the reconciliation of the Ukrainian crisis held September 5 in Minsk, the representatives of pro-independence forces and the Ukrainian government agreed on a ceasefire, subsequently accusing each other of violating the agreement.
