Former Ukrainian President: Shaking hands with Putin is not a shameful thing

Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Photo: Tass

Earlier, in an interview with Rada newspaper, Maxim Buzhansky, a deputy of President Vladimir Zelensky's Servant of the People Party, criticized former President Poroshenko for his statements during a phone call with President Putin in 2016 on the Donbass issue.

According to the released recording of the call, Mr. Poroshenko congratulated the Russian President and ended the conversation with the intimate sentence "I would like to shake your hand and hug you."

Responding to those criticisms, former President Poroshenko said: "We have been holding a tight defense line for five years, not withdrawing troops and protecting every Ukrainian soldier. I am convinced that now we must unite, hold a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council, to strengthen the defense system. We would rather shake hands than look into Putin's eyes, and seek peace there. Because it is not there."

Mr. Poroshenko also repeated the words of incumbent President Vladimir Zelensky in a meeting with the leaders of the "Normandy Four". Mr. Zelensky said, "I saw in Putin's eyes the desire to end the war".

Regarding the Donbass issue, according to former President Poroshenko, Ukraine needs to carry out a joint initiative with Germany and France on the roadmap of the Minsk agreements based on the principle of security first.

"Decisive action is needed. Armed units must be returned to their positions on the front line, which have been withdrawn over the past two years; restrictions on the activities of intelligence groups must be removed," said former President Poroshenko, calling for the resumption of reconnaissance operations by drones and artillery in Donbass.

This is not the first time Mr. Poroshenko has called on the Ukrainian army to return to the front line in Donbass, because he believes that the reality of the ceasefire agreement in Donbass is "a fiction".

Relations between Moscow and Kiev have deteriorated over the Donbass region. The Ukrainian government has repeatedly stated that Russia is interfering in the country's internal affairs. In January 2015, the Verkhovna Rada declared that Russia is considered an enemy of Ukraine.

For its part, Russia has denied the above accusations of Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly affirmed that it is not interested in internal conflicts, as well as the political and economic crises in Ukraine.