On the front of the Ukrainian crisis, a glimmer of peace seems to be opening. This is suggested by the symbolic handshake between the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the Ukrainian Petro Poroshenko, who met at the meeting in Minsk, Belarus, where the summit of the Customs Union between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan is being held. Among the topics of the summit the Ukrainian crisis above all, energy security and the serious effects of the association agreement between Kiev and Brussels.
During his speech in front of the audience, Vladimir Putin did not fail to clarify his position regarding the critical situation in Ukraine. "Russia respects the sovereign choice of each State in organizing its political life and unions, be they military or economic - said Putin - but we hope that this will not be to the detriment of other exponents of the international community or at our expense". The reference is clearly directed to the association agreement between Ukraine and the EU which could cost the Russian economy 100 billion rubles: "from this point of view we cannot stand still - continued the Russian President - and we would simply be forced to take crucial to protect our market”.
Specifically, regarding the escalation of violence that characterized the crisis on the border between Ukraine and Russia, both presidents said they were convinced that "the situation cannot be resolved with a further escalation of the military scenario, without taking into consideration the vital interests of those regions and without a peaceful dialogue with its representatives” – said Putin. This is echoed by Poroshenko, who however does not fail to underline the prerogatives that no one can take away: "the only effective tool to put an end to the crisis in eastern Ukraine - the Ukrainian president pressed - is effective control of the border with Russia, together with the stop of arms supplies to pro-Russian rebels and the necessary release of prisoners of war".
