Ukraine's left-wing political parties pledge joint fight against crisis

Five Ukrainian left-wing political parties and 13 non-governmental organizations on Monday announced that they have set up an association to jointly address the ongoing crisis in the East European country.

"We combine our efforts in order to save Ukraine and to protect the rights of our compatriots for peace and prosperity," the newly- created association named Left Opposition said in a statement.

The main aim of the organization, which is led by the Communist Party of Ukraine, is to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict in eastern regions, based on the principles of the Minsk ceasefire agreement, the statement said.

To achieve this goal, the assosiation will undertake efforts to promote decentralization in the country and seek instruments to grant Russian the status of second official language in Ukraine, it said.

According to the statement, to overcome the economic crisis in Ukraine, the Left Opposition will request the government to implement social and economic reforms, return strategic enterprises into state-ownership and create new jobs.

Besides, the association said that it would strive to improve Kiev's relations with Russia in a bid to boost Ukraine's trade and restore stability in the region. Endite