Poroshenko criticizes the idea of abandoning the Donbas
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko criticized the opinion of some politicians who are calling on him to abandon the Donbas, as he stated at an event commemorating Unity Day in the Taras Shevchenko National Museum.
"It is regrettable to discuss this on Unity Day, but there are political forces which are in a subtle way, proposing that we abandon the Donbas... I want to ask these politicians a question: Gentlemen, did you unite these territories to discard them so easily," the President asked.
According to Poroshenko, these politicians are calling on us to treat the residents of the uncontrolled areas of the Donbas "as if they are not already Ukrainian citizens."
"Such a strategy will not lead to 100% peace. The goal of Russia is not the Donetsk or Luhansk, their goal is the whole of Ukraine, not only the Crimea or Sevastopol," the President added.
Victor Pinchuk earlier wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal discussing compromises which Ukraine can make to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine. In particular, he proposed that Ukraine remove the accession to EU and NATO from its priority objectives. The President’s administration said Pinchuk’s proposal came from fear and weakness.