Trump To Speak To Poroshenko Amid Renewed Violence In Eastern Ukraine
U.S. President Donald Trump is due to hold his first talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko as an upsurge in fighting has killed dozens in eastern Ukraine over the past week.
The scheduled phone call -- which will take place in the evening Ukraine time on February 4 -- comes as the death toll hit at least 35 following a week of renewed clashes between Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed separatists.
Ukraine has expressed concern that Trump could roll back some sanctions imposed on Russia after its 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and in retaliation for Moscow's military, economic, and political support for separatist militants in eastern Ukraine.
Trump has repeatedly expressed hope for improved relations with Moscow. The phone call comes a week after Trump spoke to Putin.
On February 2, the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, expressed "strong condemnation of Russia's actions" in eastern Ukraine and warned that Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia will not be lifted until Crimea is returned to Kyiv.
"Crimea is a part of Ukraine. Our Crimea-related sanctions will remain in place until Russia returns control of the peninsula to Ukraine," she said.
Some 9,800 people have been killed since the conflict in eastern Ukraine erupted in April 2014.