Poroshenko: Ukraine will remain a unitary state and its only national language will be Ukrainian

Ukraine will remain a unitary state and its only national language will be Ukrainian, the country's President Petro Poroshenko said during a working visit to Kharkiv.

“Ukraine will not be a federation but will remain a unitary state. Its European choice is out of question and its only national language will be Ukrainian,” Poroshenko said.

He is convinced that 85% of Ukrainians support this idea.

While meeting with a delegation of the Venice Commission a day before, the Ukrainian president said that his country embarked on the path of reforms and decentralization. “Ukraine is ready to meet the Minsk agreements and to cease fire, but, at one and the same time, we are strengthening our army and are mobilizing our reserves,” Poroshenko said.

“The agreements contain a clear demand to cease fire, to release all hostages, to close borders, to withdraw all foreign troops and mercenaries and to politically settle the conflict through local elections complying with the Ukrainian laws. But we can hold these talks only if we have a strong army, an army that can defend our state,” the Ukrainian president said.

He said that Ukraine is ready to cease fire. “We are ready to implement the Minsk agreements. But if our proposals are ignored, our armed forces are able to defend our territory,” Poroshenko said.

As EAD reported earlier, the last meeting in Minsk failed due to the absence of Ukrainian negotiators. Later Spokesman of Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry Yevgeny Perebeynos blamed the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics for this. “The negotiations were wrecked because of their demands. We don’t understand the language of ultimatums. Our position is that the Minsk agreements must be implemented,” Perebeynos said.