Poroshenko sworn in
Petro Poroshenko has been sworn in as president of Ukraine syesterday, setting out a plan to bring peace to the conflict-torn east of the country.
The 48-year-old tycoon, who won the 25 May election, offered political concessions to people in the east and said he did not want war or revenge.
But he also said he had told Russia's president that Crimea, which Moscow has annexed, would "always be Ukrainian".
Some separatists dismissed the speech, saying they would "never surrender".
Russia's ambassador said the address was a "promising declaration of intent". Mikhail Zurabov, who attended the inauguration, said Ukraine should end its military operation in the east, provided that militias called a ceasefire and allowed humanitarian access.
Kiev says Moscow is backing armed militants in the eastern Donbass area, an accusation that Russia denies.
Clashes continued in some eastern areas yesterday, with reports of the army shelling the rebel stronghold of Sloviansk and of shooting further south in Mariupol.
Poroshenko was inaugurated in the presence of dozens of foreign dignitaries - including US Vice-President Joe Biden - in parliament in the capital Kiev.
Poroshenko, the owner of the Roshen chocolates group, laid out a programme for ending the crisis that included an offer of early regional elections in the east and a decentralisation of power to the regional administrations.
He said: "I don't want war. I don't want revenge, despite the huge sacrifice of the Ukrainian people."
Poroshenko called on separatists in the east to lay down their arms, saying he would guarantee indemnity from criminal charges to all those who did not have blood on their hands.
But he added: "Talking to gangsters and killers is not our path."
The BBC's David Stern in Kiev says part of the speech was in Russian - directed at those in strife-torn Donbass - and offered concessions on Russian language and a corridor for Russian fighters to return home.
But our correspondent says there were also standing ovations for the president's comments on Crimea and on ties with the European Union - which he reiterated he wanted Ukraine to join.
Poroshenko said of Crimea - annexed in March by Russia - "Crimea is, was and always will be Ukrainian soil."
Referring to a brief meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in France on Friday, he said: "I put that clearly to the Russian leader in Normandy."
Poroshenko also said there would be no discussion concerning the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Some separatists were unimpressed by Poroshenko's speech, including a spokesman in Donetsk, Fyodor Berezin, who said the president wanted "one-sided disarmament and for us to surrender. That will never happen".
An insurgency leader in Luhansk, Valery Bolotov, said he did not believe Poroshenko's offer of amnesty.
After their meeting on Friday, Putin said he liked Poroshenko's approach but would wait to see what he could deliver.
US Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday struck an upbeat note, saying: "I hope that in the next few days we can see some steps taken that will reduce the tensions... I'm confident there are ways forward."
Targeted sanctions were introduced by the EU and US after Russia annexed Crimea, following a controversial referendum on joining Russia.
Since then, a bloody insurgency has gripped Ukraine's eastern provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk.
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