At his swearing in, Ukraine’s new president Petro Poroshenko called for the armed protesters in his country's east to lay down their weapons.
POROSHENKO: “I want peace and I want to bring unity to Ukraine. That's why I'm starting my work with a peace plan." (Via Sky News)
He took the oath of office Saturday in front of the lawmakers that ousted former President Viktor Yanukovych in February. In attendance were a number of foreign dignitaries, including Vice-President Biden. (Via RT)
Poroshenko is a self-made billionaire who owns Ukraine’s most popular candy company. He won by a landslide in last month's elections. (Via Flickr/ Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
In his inaugural address, he recognized the so-called Heavenly Hundred demonstrators killed in clashes with the police in Kiev earlier this year. (Via ITN)
Speaking in both Ukrainian and Russian, he promised to commit to “guarding the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine." (Via Ukraine News One)
He also called for holding early parliamentary elections and vowed to immediately sign an economic association agreement with the European Union. That's the agreement his predecessor refused to sign, which set off the protests in the first place. (Via Channel 4)
Poroshenko inherits a difficult job. He’ll need to tackle a growing pro-Russian uprising in the country’s east where insurgents have denounced his new government and are calling for closer ties with Russia.
On the eve of his swearing in ceremony, Poroshenko met briefly with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting of world leaders in Normandy to commemorate D-Day. (Via Euronews)
Poroshenko reportedly told his Russian counterpart he would not accept the annexation of Crimea. That same day, President Obama met with Putin — in what was the pair’s first face-to-face meeting since the crisis began.
