Putin May Meet Ukraine’s Poroshenko in Minsk
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Minsk for talks with the leaders of the member states of the Eurasian Customs Union, Ukraine and representatives of the EU. Putin could also hold a bilateral meeting with Petro Poroshenko, the Kremlin said.
Putin and Poroshenko greeted each other with a handshake as they met in the Belarusian capital at the start of talks on the Ukrainian crisis.
In the opening statement, Russia's president said that Moscow is interested in not only maintaining its cooperation with Ukraine, but even expanding it, RT reported.
However, Putin expressed doubt that the two countries will be able to achieve this goal in case of Kiev’s association with the European Union gets enacted. Moscow will be forced to implement countermeasures if this happens, he added.
“We do not want to discriminate against anybody,” he said. “We are simply going to implement a standard trade regime regarding Ukraine – the same, which is used in relations between Russia and the EU.”
Ukraine’s Petro Poroshenko stated the goal of his visit is to do everything possible to stop bloodshed in the country's restive east and begin process of finding a political compromise. The effective means for that is establishing good border controls, he noted.
Poroshenko also called on the meeting to accept his peace plan for Donbass, a historical name for Ukraine’s eastern provinces.
“I am convinced this plan remains relevant today and would be an effective means to stop the bloodshed and to start rebuilding Donbass,” he said, pledging to take the interests of the people living in the region into account.
In his turn, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev urged the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan to provide joint humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
"A break for a truce is essential," Nazarbayev said, adding that a ceasefire should be announced in Ukraine in order “for the children and women affected by the conflict to get help.”
Praising the initiative, Poroshenko said an international forum on the humanitarian crisis in eastern Ukraine is set for autumn; both the EU and Customs Union are invited to take part.
The negotiations in Minsk are part of a Customs Union summit, which also includes the Ukrainian president and representatives of the European Commission, the Kremlin’s press service said prior to the meeting. The Customs Union comprises Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
