Ukrainian, Polish presidents discuss deploying UN peacekeeping troops in Donbas

KIEV, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda met on Wednesday and discussed a possible deployment of the UN peacekeeping troops in Ukraine's conflict-hit eastern region of Donbas, Poroshenko's press service said.

During the talks in Ukraine's eastern city of Kharkiv, the two sides had discussed in details the coordination of joint actions regarding the initiative, the Ukrainian presidential press said.

Following the meeting, Poroshenko said the deployment of blue helmets could be an instrument to bring peace to eastern Ukraine and prevent future casualties.

He reiterated that Ukraine supports the deployment of the UN patrol only if the troops would be stationed across the whole area controlled by the pro-independence rebels.

"Peacekeepers should work in the entire non-controlled territory of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, not just along the contact line," Poroshenko said.

For his part, Duda said that Poland stands ready to support Ukraine's initiative in the UN Security Council.

On Sept. 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow will ask the UN Security Council to send peacekeepers to patrol the contact line in eastern Ukraine.

The confrontation since April 2014 between government troops and pro-independence insurgents in eastern Ukraine has claimed about 10,000 lives.

Duda arrived in Ukraine earlier on Wednesday for a one-day working visit. Enditem