Poroshenko Ready to Impose Martial Law in Ukraine if Minsk Talks Result in No Agreements

Kiev (PNA/TASS) — Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Wednesday said he is ready to impose martial law across the country if no agreements are reached at the summit in Minsk.

The president reiterated, however, that he remained “a president of peace”. “We must be ready for both options – for peace and for country’s protection,” he said.

Focusing on the status of embattled Donbas (eastern regions of Ukraine), he said “decentralization we work on will have nothing to do with federalization, Ukraine remains a unitary state”. He explained, however, that he is ready “to grant the same rights that exist in the Russian Federation to territorial communities”.

Ukraine and the European Union will voice a joint stance at the Normandy format summit in Minsk, Poroshenko said at a Cabinet session on Wednesday.

“The key stance is ceasefire with no preconditions,” the president said. “We want to live in peace, we want a whole Ukraine and we want to stop the aggression,” he went on.

He said he had just coordinated positions with EU representatives over the phone ahead of the Normandy Quartet summit in Minsk on Wednesday.

“Ukraine and the European Union will have a joint stance at this summit,” he said. “I have not had a more important meeting during my presidency than in Minsk today,” Poroshenko said. (PNA/TASS) LAM/RSM