09:37 21.08.2014

East Ukraine crisis cannot be resolved by military methods alone - Poroshenko

2 min read
East Ukraine crisis cannot be resolved by military methods alone - Poroshenko

The situation that is being observed in Ukraine's eastern regions today cannot be settled by military methods alone, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said at a meeting with UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman.

There is no internal conflict in Ukraine, Poroshenko said.

"People in Donetsk and Luhansk want peace. The implementation of the peace plan proposed by us will determine our further actions. We realize that this situation cannot be settled by military methods alone," the Ukrainian president said.

Feltman is currently in Ukraine on the instructions of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the Ukrainian presidential press service reported.

Poroshenko also said that militants had attacked a column of civilians who were trying to leave Luhansk.

He also spoke about the initiative of the Ukrainian side to send international humanitarian assistance to Luhansk, which, being under the control of terrorists, is now on the verge of a humanitarian disaster.

Poroshenko said that Russian servicemen were fighting in the Donbas and there were also reports that Russia continues to send the newest weapons to eastern Ukraine, including tanks, artillery, and rocket launchers, the same used by militants on July 17 to shot down the Malaysia Airlines passenger jet.

"I am sure that everyone regards the attack on a civilian plane as international terrorism and that criminals involved in this should be brought to justice," he said.

He also drew attention to the problem of hostages captured and illegally held in Russia.

"Ordinary citizens of Ukraine were kidnapped by terrorists, and there is no explanation of how it happened that they found themselves in Russian prisons. We want the international community to help us release our prisoners," Poroshenko said.

Speaking on behalf of the UN secretary-general, Feltman, for his part, thanked Poroshenko for his peace initiatives and invited him to attend the next session of the UN General Assembly in New York in September.

AD
AD
AD
AD