Kiev (AFP) – Ukraine’s Western-backed leader Petro Poroshenko promised Monday to meet Russia’s Vladimir Putin and involve US President Barack Obama in his stalled push for peace with pro-Kremlin fighters in the separatist east.The surprise announcement came days after the first direct peace talks with the rebels in three months broke down without any evident progress after just one acrimonious round.The billionaire chocolate maker — elected in the wake of the February ouster of an unpopular Moscow-backed president — is waging a two-front campaign to save the former Soviet Union’s second largest republic from disintegration and economic collapse.His bid to …read more
Source: Business Insider