KIEV, January 25. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, on a visit in Riyadh, has held a series of bilateral meetings with world leaders, as well as telephone conversations with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, head of the European Council Donald Tusk, EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, Ukrainian president’s press service said on Sunday.
“Poroshenko has reached an agreement on the need to told negotiations in the ‘Geneva format’ with the participation of the United States, European Union, Russian Federation and Ukraine,” the press service said.
The president also instructed the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get prepared for a meeting of the UN Security Council and to prepare statements to be made in all international organisations.
On Saturday, Poroshenko wrote on his Facebook page that he agreed with the leaders of the EU, France and the United States “to coordinate the next joint steps and actions.”
Poroshenko initiated an extraordinary meeting of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine on January 25 in connection with the deteriorating situation in the east of the country and the shelling of the city of Mariupol. In view of this, he cut short his visit to Saudi Arabia.
The National Security and Defence Council meeting will consider the “development and implementation of additional effective steps due to the rapid deterioration of the situation in the east.”
The parties to the Ukrainian conflict agreed on a ceasefire at talks mediated by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on September 5 in Belarusian capital Minsk. The ceasefire took effect the same day but has reportedly occasionally been violated.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the OSCE has repeatedly ignored data on military preparations and concentration of Ukrainian forces along the contact line which comes in violation of the Minsk agreements.