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                   Power: US Supports Ukraine on 'Two Fronts'

   by VOA News

   The United States supports Ukraine's efforts to counter Russian
   aggression and build an open government, says Washington's envoy to the
   United Nations.

   "My msg to people of Ukraine--US stands w/you as you fight on two
   fronts: countering Russian aggression and building an open, responsive
   govt," Samantha Power tweeted during a visit to Kyiv, where she arrived
   Wednesday for meetings with Ukrainian officials.

   Power, known as a staunch supporter of Ukraine at U.N. Security Council
   meetings, met with Ukraine's president, Petro Poroshenko, with whom she
   discussed the implementation of a cease-fire deal between Ukrainian
   forces and pro-Russia rebels in eastern Ukraine at a time of renewed
   hostilities between the warring sides.

   The agreement, reached in February in Minsk, Belarus, requires both
   rebels and Ukraine forces withdraw heavy weapons from the "line of
   contact", but international observers have reported frequent violations
   of the deal's provisions.

   "You cannot imagine how popular you currently are in Ukraine," joked
   Poroshenko to Power at the beginning of their meeting, adding that many
   Ukrainians follow U.N. Security Council sessions devoted to the Ukraine
   conflict, which to date has killed some 6,500 people.

   Power has earned a reputation for her sharp exchanges at the sessions
   with Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaliy Churkin.

   Russia is widely seen in the West as fueling the conflict in eastern
   Ukraine as a means of halting its integration with Europe. Ukrainians
   toppled a pro-Russia president in February 2014 following months of
   massive street protests against his rule.

   Power on Wednesday also paid tribute to the dozens of pro-democracy
   protesters killed during the "Maidan" rallies by security forces.

   ''
   Part of Power's mission to Ukraine is to also explore the establishment
   in Kyiv of a U.N. office charged with supporting the implementation of
   the Minsk agreement. She is scheduled to deliver an address at a local
   culture and arts center later on Thursday.

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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/power-says-us-supports-ukraine-on-two
   -fronts/2816984.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/power-says-us-supports-ukraine-on-two-fronts/2816984.html