Ukrainian President ready for dialogue with insurgents

Kiev: Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Tuesday said he is ready to hold a dialogue with militias in eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian leadership is prepared for a dialogue with the insurgents who are ready to "give up arms and use future amnesty", start "political dialogue in order to elect new authorities as well as decentralisation" and with those who support the restoration of peace in the eastern regions, Xinhua quoted Poroshenko as saying. The President also said his peace plan would be implemented by all means. "There is no doubt that the peace plan will be implemented. "It has won the support of the whole world, and it will be supported in Donetsk and Lugansk as well." He suggested to add "people who represent the biggest force" to the list of representatives of the eastern regions in order to resume the peace talks.

Poroshenko made the remarks on a brief trip to the city of Slavyansk, the city recently regained by the Ukrainian troops in eastern Donetsk. He promised the residents that the authorities were doing their best to restore life in the city at the earliest. Earlier in the day, Poroshenko suggested holding the next round of talks of the contact group, involving Ukraine, Russia and the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), in Donetsk region`s northern town of Sviatohirsk. The proposal, however, was immediately rejected by the self- proclaimed Donetsk People`s Republic (DPR), as the town is controlled by Kiev.