Germany's Merkel Urges Cease-Fire in Eastern Ukraine During Kiev Visit

KIEV, Ukraine – German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a bilateral ceasefire during a working visit to Kiev on Saturday, and said she believed a diplomatic solution to the bloody conflict in eastern Ukraine was possible.



“Our focus cannot lie with military conflict, which unfortunately is necessary today,” Merkel said during her first visit to the Ukrainian capital since 2008. “There has to be a bilateral cease-fire. Deeds now have to follow words, and I think on the Ukrainian side, much has been done.”

See also: Trucks Cross Back to Russia After Ukraine Denounces 'Invasion'

Merkel met with President Petro Poroshenko at his administration building in Kiev on the eve of Ukraine’s Independence Day, and ahead of a meeting in Minsk on Tuesday in which the Ukrainian head of state will come face to face with Russian President Vladimir Putin.



Diplomats and analysts say the main purpose of Merkel’s visit is to show Germany’s support for Kiev, as Ukrainian forces clash with Russian-backed insurgents in the country’s east, but also to convince Poroshenko that it will be important to listen and consider offers presented by Putin in Minsk.



Taras Berezovets, director of the Kyiv-based political consultancy Berta Communications, told Read more...

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