Poroshenko 'Shocked' at Washington's Prior Refusal to Assist Ukraine

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.