Poroshenko calls for new cabinet by next week:
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has urged parliament to approve a new cabinet next week in a bid to end a political crisis.
Ukraine’s ruling coalition has collapsed over efforts to stamp out corruption, but Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk refuses to step down after he survived a no-confidence vote last month, triggered by Poroshenko’s party.
Poroshenko told reporters in the eastern city of Kharkiv on March 23 that he was ready "to support any candidate for prime minister submitted by the [parliamentary] coalition."
"I stress that it is in Ukraine's interests to see the government confirmed next Tuesday."
Yatsenyuk expressed hope on March 23 that the political crisis would be resolved soon.
"I am waiting for further decisions to be made both by the parliamentary coalition and -- most importantly -- the president's party and the president himself."
Poroshenko controls parliament's largest faction. The one headed by Yatsenyuk closely trails in second and has previously voted in line with the president's group.
U.S.-born Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko said on March 22 that she was ready to serve as prime minister under strict conditions. (AFP, Interfax)
Kyiv to discuss sanctions against Russian officials involved in Savchenko case:
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says he has called on the National Security and Defense Council to consider sanctions against Russian officials involved in the prosecution of Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko.
A Russian court has sentenced Savchenko to 22 years in prison for her alleged involvement in the death of two Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine.
After the sentence was pronounced on March 22, Poroshenko said he was ready to exchange the pilot for two Russians who were captured during fighting in eastern Ukraine and whom Kyiv believes are Russian servicemen.
Addressing journalists in the eastern city of Kharkiv on March 23, Poroshenko said the exchange would be possible only after Savchenko's sentence comes fully into force, meaning when the 10-day appeal period expires.
Savchenko said she won't appeal the ruling, and that she did not recognize the Russian court or its right to try her. (UNIAN, Interfax)
Russia Accuses Kyiv Of Ignoring Peace Deal
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused Ukraine's government of failing to implement the Minsk cease-fire agreement.
Lavrov, who was hosting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Moscow on March 23, told journalists that Kyiv's inaction was the main stumbling block to a peace settlement in Ukraine’s east.
The Minsk deal signed in February 2015 has helped reduce the fighting between government forces and Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, but skirmishes have continued.
Steinmeier urged both sides to comply with the terms of the agreement, warning of a possible escalation.
He also expressed hope a humanitarian solution could be found for Ukrainian military pilot Nadia Savchenko, who was sentenced on March 22 to 22 years in prison in Russia for her alleged involvement in the death of two Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine.