Acting Ukrainian president in favor of talks

Acting Ukrainian president in favor of talks

KIEV -- Acting President of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov has stressed that any talks on Ukraine's crisis are better than war.

He made the comment while commenting on a joint statement adopted in Geneva last week after a meeting of EU diplomats and those from the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine, adding that it was a step towards peace talks on the crisis in Ukraine

"The statement did not provide answers to many questions. But any talks are better than war," said Turchynov told the Ukrainian television, and was quoted by ITAR-TASS.

"The first step towards peace talks has been made. Time will tell how sincere that statement was," he added.

In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that the Kremlin was satisfied with the results of the meeting in Geneva, but that the outcome "yet has to be analyzed in detail."

The joint statement on the situation in Ukraine spoke about initial steps to calm the tensions and the return of security for all citizens.

Over the weekend in eastern Ukraine, six people died during an attack on a checkpoint in the town of Slavyanks, according to Voice of Russia.

Among the dead were four members of the self-defense forces of the self-proclaimed People's Republic of Donetsk, and two assailants, who are believed to have been members of the Ukrainian radical paramilitary group Right Sector.