Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has called on the international community to hold their ground on the principles of protection of freedom, democracy and human rights.

"We are back on the verge of a major hostility. It's not a hostility between 'the west' and 'the rest.' It's the hostility between those who seek harmony and those who seek domination. It's the hostility between those who play by the rules and those who believe that the rules don't really exist," Poroshenko said at a roundtable meeting at the UN World Humanitarian summit in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday.

"We see it very clearly in today's Russia – a nuclear nation that sees democracy as a threat and freedom as a poison. This situation is not about a different interpretation. It’s about different goals," Poroshenko added.

According to him, freedom, democracy, free speech, basic human rights are "the invaluable assets, not commodities."

"What you fight for – is what you are. So, let's stand our ground! Let's stick to freedom and human rights!" he called on those present at the high-level leaders' roundtable "Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts" in Istanbul.