Ukrainian Leader Says Eastern Violence Must End This Week

By Daria Marchak, Daryna Krasnolutska and Volodymyr Verbyany Jun 9, 2014 8:25 AM ET

June 9 (Bloomberg) –- Ukraine's Independence Square was the focus of a revolution that ousted pro-Russian President Victor Yanukovich. Almost half a year later and the square, one of Kiev's busiest, is still be occupied by protestors. A new mayor and president have called for the camp to be taken down. Bloomberg's Ryan Chilcote looks at how they plan to reclaim the square. (Source: Bloomberg)

Ukraine’s new leader, Petro Poroshenko, said the violence that’s rocked the former Soviet republic’s easternmost regions must end this week as peace talks began involving an envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Poroshenko, who took the oath of office June 7, said negotiations should be held daily. Yesterday’s three-way talks in Kiev included the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Pavlo Klimkin, the Russian envoy to Ukraine, Mikhail Zurabov, and Heidi Tagliavini, a special representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

“We must stop the violence this week,” Poroshenko said on his website. “Every day when people die, every day when Ukraine pays such a high price is unacceptable.”

Poroshenko, who was sworn in a day after discussing cease-fire proposals with Putin, used his inauguration speech to present a plan to bring peace after more than six months of unrest that’s pitted the U.S. and Europe against Russia in the worst standoff since the Cold War. After his May 25 election victory, the 48-year-old billionaire’s ability to repair relations with Russia will be key to success in pacifying the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where the military is battling a separatist insurgency.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-08/ukrainian-leader-says-eastern-violence-must-end-this-week.html