President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland Timo Soini. The President of Ukraine expressed gratitude for Finland’s continued support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, compliance with the EU sanctions regime against the Russian Federation by the Finnish companies, as well as facilitation of the reforms in Ukraine.

President Poroshenko and Minister Soini discussed the situation in the Donbas and Crimea, particularly the prospects of deploying a UN peacekeeping mission. The parties agreed with the necessity of rolling over sanctions against Russia until full restoration of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Petro Poroshenko emphasized that the Kremlin’s intention to carry out voting within the presidential elections on the territory of the Ukrainian Crimea directly contradicted international law. The Head of State urged the international partners to condemn the illegal election process on the peninsula and take appropriate measures to prevent their citizens from the so-called “international observation”.

Also on March 5 President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko had a meeting with Minister of Defence of Sweden Peter Hultqvist. The parties noted the dynamic intensification of the dialogue between Ukraine and Sweden in the military-political sphere, in particular given Russia’s destabilizing role for the European security system. The Head of State informed in detail of the ongoing tense situation in the Donbas and militarization of the temporarily occupied Crimean peninsula. Petro Poroshenko has called on the EU countries not to recognize the voting results of the Russian presidential elections on the territory of the Ukrainian Crimea. “Holding the elections on the territory of Crimea contradicts the Ukrainian legislation. It is illegal and brutally violates international law,” the President of Ukraine emphasized.