In an interview for Espresso TV,  Petro Poroshenko said going into talks with Moscow will require having ‘strong positions’ while showing weakness will embolden  Putin  – he will try to go as far as he can.

Ukrainian negotiators should tread cautiously and not buy into any promises of the Russian president as he easily goes back on those.

‘Putin many times promised me a pullback of Russian troops, a ceasefire, removal of heavy weaponry and artillery, and release of captives, and a slew of other things, including guaranteed return of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, with a worked-out algorithm of such return,’ said Poroshenko.

Ukraine can’t afford to be entangled in some complicated schemes with countries guarantors stepping in. The most critical thing presently is to secure  a ceasefire deal and go about the humanitarian issues once Russia pulls back its troops from Ukraine.

It is only then Ukraine could move on to the second stage of ‘security guarantees’.

It will not require discussions as Kyiv ‘has already outlined what kind of security guarantees will suit us’.