KYIV. June 26 (Interfax) - Kyiv has invited the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to step up cooperation in monitoring the situation in the eastern part of the country and agreed to let Russian representatives monitor the situation at the border, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said.
"Ukraine is interested in this and proposes intensifying the OSCE efforts in establishing tough monitoring with elements of control over the situation on the ground. We have invited them to each checkpoint and are ready to officially engage Russian representatives in monitoring the border so that they see Ukraine meticulously honoring its commitments," Poroshenko said at a session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg on Thursday.
Ukrainian security forces unilaterally ceased fire in the eastern part of the country from June 20 to June 27, Poroshenko said. "Our goal is to switch from the mode of military protection on the boarder to a regime where there is reliable control. If there is border control, the illegal influx of mercenaries, armored vehicles, and heavy weapons to Ukrainian territory will end," he said.