KYIV. Dec 3 (Interfax) - It is important to increase the naval presence of Germany and the allies in the Black Sea, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said, according to his press service.
"We need increase naval presence of Germany and the allies in the Black Sea as a deterring factor for Russia," Poroshenko said in an interview with German Funke Media Group.
"Russia's aggressive actions are unacceptable. The international community and the unified Europe should increase the pressure on Russia," he said.
"We need a strong, unified, clear reaction to Russia's aggressive behavior. We need to stop Nord Stream II. We need to think about new sanctions now," Poroshenko said.
"I believe that the European Union meeting in Brussels in December will become a timely opportunity to consider the situation based on the principle of solidarity and unity with Ukraine," Poroshenko said.
NATO Spokesperson Oana Lungescu earlier said, responding to the proposal made by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to send NATO ships to the Black Sea, that NATO already has a considerable presence in the region. "There is already a lot of NATO in the Black Sea, and we will continue to assess our presence in the region," she was quoted saying by the Associated Press.
Poroshenko also said in an interview with Funke Media Group that the situation with the conflict in Donbas depends on Russia.
"Everything depends on Russia, the country that is waging a hybrid war against Ukraine. Our country has never provoked any military escalation. It wasn't us who came with tanks and guns without an invitation, it was the Russians. It wasn't Ukraine that stole part of the sovereign territory of a different state, it was Russia," Poroshenko said
Poroshenko also said that "Moscow is trying to get a ground corridor from the occupied Donbas to the occupied Crimea, taking over Mariupol and Berdiansk."