KIEV, October 17. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko met with European Commission chairman Jose Manuel Barroso and chairman of the EU Council Herman Van Rompuy on the eve of the multilateral talks in Milan, the presidential press service said on Friday.
The officials agreed that all provisions of the Minsk protocol of September 5 and the Minsk memorandum of September 20 “must be complied with strictly”, primarily the ceasefire regime and the release of prisoners.
They said the problem of Ukraine-EU energy security “requires joint efforts and coordination”.
Earlier, Poroshenko conferred with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
The parties to the Ukrainian conflict agreed on ceasefire and exchange of prisoners during OSCE-mediated talks on September 5 in Belarusian capital Minsk. The ceasefire took effect the same day but reports said it has occasionally been violated.
On September 20 in Minsk, the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine comprising representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE adopted a memorandum outlining the parameters for the implementation of commitments on the ceasefire in Ukraine laid down in the Minsk Protocol of September 5. The document contains nine points, including in particular a ban on the use of all armaments and withdrawal of weapons with the calibres of over 100 millimetres to a distance of 15 kilometres from the contact line from each side. The OSCE was tasked with controlling the implementation of memorandum provisions.
On September 3, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested a seven-point plan to settle the crisis in Ukraine.
On Friday morning, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is planning to give a breakfast for Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Francois Hollande of France, Pyotr Poroshenko of Ukraine, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. They might be joined by British Prime Minister David Cameron, President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso and Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini, who will take over the post of the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.