Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has testified via a video link at the state treason trial against disgraced ex-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. He spoke about his trip to Crimea on February 27, 2014 in order to calm the situation on the peninsula.

"I was personally acquainted with the accused. Our relations with Yanukovych varied," Poroshenko said.

Poroshenko said he received permission from Chairman of Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Turchynov to visit Crimea in order to talk with deputies from Crimea's parliament and stop "destructive processes" set in motion after an attempt to call an illegal referendum.

"After receiving written permission from Turchynov, I immediately went to Simferopol and received information that the city was already blocked," Poroshenko said.