Merkel pledges German support
June 5, 2014
At a dinner with Poroshenko in Berlin on Thursday, Chancellor Merkel promised the president-elect Germany's broad support in his bid to overcome the crisis in his country.
Merkel said the goal was for all the people of Ukraine to live in calm and secure conditions, and for the country's economic development to be put back on course.
She added, however, that the situation in Ukraine remains difficult and that Kyiv will need Russia's support as well. Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine have threatened to split the country, with Moscow having already annexed the Ukraine's Black Sea Peninsula Crimea in March.
Poroshenko told reporters in Berlin he hoped Moscow had understood that "the position of the Russian Federation is obviously harmful for both sides."
Poroshenko, billionaire candy-maker, thanked the chancellor and said he hoped for continued support from Germany as he pushes forward with judicial reform and the fight against corruption.
The "Chocolate King" beat out his nearest rival, former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, to win the May 25 vote. Poroshenko, 48, is set to be officially sworn in to office on Saturday.
The meeting in Berlin came on the heels of the G7 summit in Brussels where world leaders called on Russia to cease its support for the separatist groups in Ukraine and open a dialogue with Kyiv.
Both Merkel and Poroshenko will attend Friday's D-Day remembrance ceremony in France to mark the 70th anniversary of the World War II Allied landings in Normandy. Russian President Vladimir Putin will also be in attendance.
hc/crh (Reuters, dpa)