Ukraine’s President ready for talks with protesters
(VOVworld) – Ukraine’s newly-elected President Petro Poroshenko declared his readiness on Wednesday to hold talks with the separatists in Ukraine’s eastern provinces if they agree to lay down their weapons.
 |
| Ukraine's new president Petro Poroshenko waves as he attends a flag raising ceremony after his inauguration in Kiev June 7, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) |
According to the President’s information office, Poroshenko told Donetsk Governor Sergey Taruta that he will not rule out holding "roundtable" talks with "different parties" and that these talks must become the basis for further de-escalation of the conflict. The statement was reiterated in a phone conversation with US Vice President Joe Biden. Poroshenko promised amnesty for protesters who voluntarily lay down their weapons and withdraw from occupied buildings.
The Ukrainian army continued artillery attacks on Slavyansk city. On Wednesday, observers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) halted their operation in Lugansk due to poor security.