KIEV, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday called for deploying international peacekeepers in the war-torn eastern Ukraine to observe the implementation of a ceasefire deal between government troops and pro-independence rebels.
"The best format for us is the police mission of the European Union (EU), which would operate on basis of the decision of the United Nations (UN) Security Council," Poroshenko said during a joint press conference with Johannes Hahn, the EU commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement.
The Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) will soon appeal to the UN Security Council with a request for the deployment of an international peacekeeping mission, Poroshenko said.
Calling Russia as "an aggressor state," Poroshenko said that Kiev does not want Russian troops to participate in the possible peacekeeping operation.
"Ukraine will not agree to a peacekeeping format, which threatens to legalize thousands of Russian militaries," Poroshenko said.
On Wednesday, the Ukrainian NSDC has decided to issue a plea to the UN and the EU to deploy peacekeepers in eastern Ukraine to help enforce the ceasefire deal reached on Feb. 12 in the Belarusian capital of Minsk.
In turn, Moscow warned that Kiev's call for the deployment of international peacekeepers may disrupt the Minsk peace accord.
Ukraine has long accused Russia of providing the insurgents in Lugansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine with weapons and sending troops to combat in the regions.
Moscow has repeatedly dismissed Kiev's claims, saying that Ukraine has offered no evidence of Russia's alleged involvement in the conflict, which has killed more than 5,300 people since April 2014.
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