Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has met with Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland during his visit to Istanbul, Turkey, to call on the Council of Europe to exert more pressure on Russia in connection with systemic violations of Crimean Tatars' human rights.

"The president drew attention to systemic violations of rights of Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians in Russian-occupied Crimea. In particular, [he mentioned] the arrest of Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis Ilmi Umerov. In this connection, Petro Poroshenko called on the Council of Europe to increase pressure on Russia," the Ukrainian presidential press service reported on Monday.

The parties also discussed the pace of Ukrainian reforms. Jagland welcomed the election of new Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko. He also hailed Poroshenko's efforts to reform the judicial branch of power in line with European standards.