Ukraine inauguration
June 7, 2014
Russia's ambassador to Ukraine is expected to attend Poroshenko's inauguration on Saturday, suggesting a thaw in the tense relations between Kyiv and Moscow. The Kremlin withdrew its ambassador from Ukraine after the ouster of former President Viktor Yanukovych last February.
On Friday, Poroshenko (pictured) spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the 70th anniversary commemoration of the Allied invasion of Normandy.
"The dialogue has begun and that's a good thing," Poroshenko told Ukrainian television after meeting with Putin. The president-elect said that a Russian diplomat would arrive in Kyiv on Sunday for bilateral talks.
Poroshenko won last month's presidential election outright, with 54.7 percent of the vote. A self-made billionaire, he earned his fortune in the chocolate industry.
Rapprochement?
Putin, for his part, was positive about Poroshenko's approach to the crisis. But the Russian president said he would wait for concrete actions from Kyiv before making a final judgment.
"I can only welcome Mr. Poroshenko's position that the bloodshed in eastern Ukraine must be stopped immediately," Putin said. "I cannot say for sure how that can be implemented in practical terms, but overall it seemed to me to be the right approach."
"If it continues like that, then conditions will be created for developing our relations in other areas, including the economy," he added.
Threat of sanctions
During Friday's D-Day commemorations, US President Barack Obama briefly met face-to-face with Putin for the first time since the Ukraine crisis erupted.
In an interview with NBC Nightly News, Obama called on Putin "to recognize that Ukraine just elected Mr. Poroshenko legitimate president" and work "directly with Mr. Poroshenko and the government of Ukraine to try to resolve the differences between the two countries."
Earlier in the week, the Group of Seven (G7) nations had called on Moscow to cooperate with Kyiv or face further sanctions. The G7 has already imposed targeted sanctions against Russian and Ukrainian officials in response to Moscow's annexation of Crimea last March.
Since then, pro-Russian gunmen in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts have declared independence from Ukraine and sought to become part of Russia. In response, Kyiv launched a military operation to defeat the insurgents. More than 200 people have died in the clashes, according to the Ukrainian government.
slk/tj (AP, AFP, Reuters)