Ukrainian
President Petro Poroshenko said in a televised interview that the US had
previously refused to provide military assistance to Ukraine because there was
no combat-effective army in his country.
Washington
had been reluctant to supply arms to Ukraine earlier because they
believed that there was no combat-capable army in the country, according
to President Petro Poroshenko's interview with Ukrainian television.
In the interview, he referred to the incident that
took place during a visit by the American delegation a year ago, when
"Ukraine had no friends."
"Now I can clarify the situation. When I asked our
American and European partners to provide military assistance to us,
I was shocked to hear the refusal," Poroshenko said.
According to him, members of the American
delegation explained that the decision was taken due to the lack
of an effective army in Ukraine.
"They said that all that you have are corrupted
military units that are infiltrated by Russian agents," Poroshenko
said.
The West has repeatedly accused Russia of backing
supporters of Donbass independence in eastern Ukraine, accusations
that Moscow vehemently denies.
Separately in the interview, Poroshenko signaled
his unwillingness to conduct talks with the leaders of the
self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics.
The move was criticized by Alexei Pushkov, head
of the Russian Lower House's International Affairs Committee, who said
that Poroshenko's refusal to negotiate with Donbass representatives
indicates his inability to adhere to the Minsk peace
agreements.
During the telephone conversation between the four
Normandy Front Format leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin specifically
stressed the importance of a direct dialogue between the Kiev
authorities and representatives of eastern Ukraine's Donbass region.
Source: Sputnik News 11-09-2015
