Poroshenko urges int'l talks on Ukraine crisis as economy takes hit

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called on Monday for international talks as soon as possible to settle the crisis in the country's east region and implement the Minsk peace deal, as the country, mired in the nine-month-old conflict, saw a sharp decline in its industrial output.

"Ukraine is striving for peace. We are ready to immediately summon the trilateral contact group in order to ensure the elaboration and signature of the schedule of the Minsk agreements' implementation," Poroshenko said during a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz.

The Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, which includes representatives from Ukraine, Russia, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), was created as a means to facilitate a diplomatic resolution to the tensions in eastern Ukraine.

On top of the contact group's meeting, Poroshenko said Kiev is also open for peace talks in the "Normandy format," which envisages participation of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France.

According to him, Kiev would seek de-escalation of tensions in the east through implementation of ceasefire in the combat area, withdrawal of heavy weapons from the frontline and liberation of hostages during the negotiations.

Last September, a truce agreement was inked between representatives from Kiev and the rebel leadership, but the deal has been never fully implemented. Since then, several rounds of peace talks have been held between the two warring sides, which were mediated by the international envoys from Russia and the OSCE.

The president's appeal for peace talks came at a time when the protracted fighting, now in its nine months, killed more than 4, 800 people and took a toll on the country's economy.

The State Statistics Service said Monday that Ukraine's industrial output in 2014 dipped 10.7 percent from a year earlier due to the unrest in eastern regions, with industrial production in the Donetsk region down 31.5 percent, while output in the Lugansk region plunging 42 percent.

The decline, triggered by the conflict between government troops and independence-seeking insurgents, has hit hard Ukraine's mining and processing industries, which saw yearly declines of 13. 7 percent and 10.1 percent respectively, the agency said in a report.

In 2013, the country's industrial production fell 4.7 percent after contracting 0.5 percent a year before. Endite