RIA Novosti: Kerry Demands Poroshenko Prove Russia’s Involvement in East Ukraine Events

MOSCOW, June 5 (RIA Novosti) – US Secretary of State John Kerry has urged Ukrainian President-elect Petro Poroshenko prove that Russia is involved in the independence movement in the eastern regions of Ukraine, according to The New York Times.

During a meeting in Poland on Wednesday, Kerry asked the newly elected president to provide evidence of a connection between Moscow and Ukraine’s independence supporters, according to the media outlet.

The politicians also discussed the democratic development of Ukraine. Kerry expressed admiration for the people of Ukraine and congratulated Poroshenko on his victory in the May 25 presidential election.

After talks with Kerry, the president-elect met US President Barack Obama to discuss US help in training Ukrainian military forces, and Ukraine’s energy security.

The US secretary of state is due to meet his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Paris on Thursday to discuss Syria and Ukraine.

Washington recently claimed that the US has proof Russia intervened in the conflict, by sending troops and supplying weapons to the independence movements in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed these claims in an interview Wednesday with French broadcasters Europe 1 and TF1. The West does not have reliable evidence of Moscow’s involvement in the violent standoff between the Kiev authorities and independence supporters in eastern Ukraine, Putin said.