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   From: kenyantimes@barackobama.com   
      
   Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko urged President Vladimir   
   Putin to strengthen Russian control over its borders to prevent   
   militants and arms entering Ukraine after violence broke a truce   
   there in a two-hour phone call on Sunday.   
      
   The cease-fire, declared by Poroshenko on June 20 to allow for   
   peace talks with the pro-Russian rebels, is due to expire at   
   1900 GMT on Monday, a deadline also set by EU leaders   
   considering new sanctions against Russia.   
      
   The cease-fire has been shaky since it started, with each side   
   accusing the other of numerous violations.   
      
   A statement issued by Poroshenko's office said he underlined   
   Ukraine's willingness to maintain the cease-fire at least until   
   Monday evening, but expressed concern about the situation,   
   noting what he said were multiple violations of the truce by   
   separatist fighters.   
      
   He called on Putin to strengthen border controls from the   
   Russian side to stop what Ukraine says is the flow of weapons,   
   fighters and mercenaries.   
      
   Cease-fire, sanctions   
      
   The statement came after a four-way telephone conversation among   
   the Ukrainian and Russian leaders, French President Francois   
   Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.   
      
   Merkel and Hollande encouraged the Ukrainian and Russian   
   presidents to work on meeting the EU conditions, Hollande's   
   office said in a statement.   
      
   The EU's demands included the return of three border checkpoints   
   to Ukrainian control, verification of the cease-fire by monitors   
   from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe,   
   and talks to put Poroshenko's peace plan in place.   
      
   The four leaders agreed to speak again on Monday, the statement   
   added.   
      
   The Kremlin's account of the conversation made no mention of the   
   European conditions and stressed the joint call on Poroshenko   
   not to resume his eastern campaign.   
      
   It also once again urged Ukraine to accept "immediate" Russian   
   humanitarian aid in the conflict zone. Kyiv suspects Moscow of   
   planning to use such deliveries to smuggle arms to the rebel   
   fighters.   
      
   The four-way phone call was the latest in a series of   
   discussions the four leaders have held in recent weeks in an   
   effort to stop the fighting that has killed more than 400 people   
   since April.   
      
   The European Union has threatened more penalties on Moscow   
   beyond existing asset freezes and visa bans unless pro-Russian   
   rebels act to ease the crisis in eastern Ukraine by Monday.   
      
   The United States has promised to move in lockstep with Europe   
   on Russian sanctions in the Cold War-style confrontation over   
   the future of the strategic ex-Soviet state.   
      
   Russia's economy minister warned on Saturday that new sanctions   
   could "seriously" impact growth that the International Monetary   
   Fund believes may only reach 0.2 percent this year.   
      
   But public statements in Moscow indicate it is busy preparing an   
   economic counter-offensive that would put up prohibitive   
   barriers to Ukrainian trade.   
      
   Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Saturday that Russia   
   would treat Ukraine and the ex-Soviet states of Georgia of   
   Moldova that signed their own EU deals on Friday "based on one   
   criterium -- how (the agreements) might hurt Russian trade."   
      
   Russian and EU ministers have tentatively agreed to meet on July   
   11 to discuss how Moscow's concerns might be best addressed.   
      
   Violence near Slovyansk   
      
   Ukraine's National Guard said on Sunday rebels had used tanks   
   and mortar shells to fire on a checkpoint near the separatist   
   stronghold of Slovyansk, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from   
   the border with Russia.   
      
   “There were no casualties among the military personnel there,”   
   its statement said. A spokesman for the operation told Channel 5   
   television that five soldiers had been killed in the past few   
   days by rebel violence in violation of the truce.   
      
   Interfax news agency cited rebels as saying Ukrainian forces had   
   shelled around Slovyansk, hitting a marketplace and an apartment   
   building, causing injuries.   
      
   Poroshenko, under pressure from the West to keep up the cease-   
   fire during talks with the rebels, is facing rising anger over   
   the truce, which some Ukrainians say is only giving the rebels   
   time to regroup and rearm.   
      
   Poroshenko, who accuses Moscow of fanning the violence in   
   eastern Ukraine, on Friday extended the cease-fire until 10 p.m.   
   (1900 gmt) on Monday, hours after returning from a summit in   
   Brussels with EU leaders where he signed a landmark economic   
   integration pact with Europe.   
      
   The truce, his website said, was extended in line with a Monday   
   deadline set by EU leaders for the rebels to agree to cease-fire   
   verification arrangements, return border checkpoints to Kyiv   
   authorities and free hostages including detained monitors of the   
   OSCE rights and security watchdog.   
      
   Pro-Russian separatists released four OSCE monitors late   
   Saturday, the second of two groups detained last month.   
      
   Moscow denies helping the insurgents and says it is the pro-   
   Western Ukrainian government that is fanning the violence.   
      
   Talks are meant to include separatists in Ukraine's Donetsk and   
   Luhansk provinces, Ukrainian ex-president Leonid Kuchma as   
   Kyiv's representative, Moscow's ambassador to Kyiv and members   
   of the OSCE.   
      
   But persisting violence has increased political pressure on   
   Poroshenko, who promised to end the crisis in the east in a   
   matter of weeks, to step up what he calls an anti-terrorism   
   operation against the rebels.   
      
   Hundreds of people rallied in central Kyiv on Sunday for   
   Poroshenko to call an end to the cease-fire and boost operations   
   in the two provinces, where separatists have seized state   
   buildings and weapons arsenals.   
      
   http://www.voanews.com/content/article/1947371.html   
      
       
      
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