OREANDA-NEWS  President Petro Poroshenko expressed hope that the EU would increase its leading role in the peaceful settlement of the situation in Donbas and support the international initiatives of Ukraine on de-occupation of Crimea.

The Head of State noted that France and Germany represent the entire EU in the Normandy format, which is an important tool for conflict de-escalation and withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.

“I hope that someday we will hold the next Ukraine – EU Summits - let me express this assumption - in Donetsk and Yalta. I would do everything possible for that,” Petro Poroshenko noted during the 19th Ukraine – EU Summit.

The President noted that Ukraine had faced the greatest challenge since independence and must overcome it: ongoing Russian aggression, occupation of part of the territory, illegal annexation of Crimea, hybrid war deployed on all fronts - military, political, economic, humanitarian, information and cyberspace. “Ensuring a comprehensive and sustainable solution to the current crisis is possible only if Russia returns fully and irrevocably to the framework of international law,” Petro Poroshenko noted.

The Head of State once again stressed the importance of maintaining unity within the EU. The President thanked for the fact that all these years the European Union was very clearly demonstrating unity and solidarity with Ukraine. “An indication of this support is the prolongation of the EU’s economic sanctions against the Russian Federation until January 2018 and the Crimean sanctions package until June 2018. There is a clear statement that sanctions will remain until full implementation of the Minsk agreements,” Petro Poroshenko said.

According to the President, today’s Summit opens a new page of a joint success story. “I expect that our meeting will give a clear signal to the Ukrainian people, the citizens of the EU and the whole world about our unity, solidarity and common belief in our values,” he noted.