LOC17:19
14:19 GMT
MOSCOW, Aug 24 (KUNA) -- US Secretary of State James Mattis affirmed on Thursday Washington would not recognize Russia's annexation of Crimea.
The secretary of state made the re-affirmation as he emerged from a meeting with the Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. Excerpts of his statement were picked up by the Russian media.
Mattis called on Russia to abide by international rules to preserve global stability that has existed since World War II, urging Moscow's allies to pressure it for implementing the Minsk truce accord.
The cease-fire agreement was reached by the Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels, after intensive European diplomacy in 2015.
Moreover, Mattis indicated that Washington is supplying "defensive arms" to the Ukraine underlining its right to defend its territories.
For his part, Poroshenko said he discussed with secretary Mattis prospects of deploying UN peacekeepers in the embattled eastern part of the country.
Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014. Since then, it has also supported rebels in eastern Ukraine, to dismay of western allies namely the US.
Fighting often breaks out between the rebels and government forces in the east. (end)
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