The U.S. Presidential Administration has said that Kyiv continues its efforts to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine's east, but that pro-Russian insurgents turn down every offer of talks.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said this in a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, the White House said in a statement.
According to it, Poroshenko told Biden that “the Ukrainian government had proposed many different venues – in Ukraine, in Russia, as well as other countries – for negotiating a ceasefire with the pro-Russian separatists, but that all of these offers were refused either by Russia or the separatists.”
In turn, Biden told Poroshenko that the United States was discussing with its partners in the international community “the need to hold Russia accountable for its continued support for the separatists, including its provision of heavy weapons and equipment across the border.”
The White House said that both the U.S. vice president and the Ukrainian president agreed on the need to quickly put in place an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) border monitoring mission in Ukraine, which could potentially be expanded to monitor a future ceasefire. They also agreed on the need for the immediate release of Ukrainian hostages held by the separatists.
