Poroshenko, Barroso discuss proposal for humanitarian aid to east Ukraine

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso discussed a proposal for humanitarian relief for eastern Ukraine in a phone call on Monday, the Ukrainian leader's office said.

Poroshenko said Barroso had "discussed the situation in [eastern Ukraine] and the Ukrainian President's initiative for an international humanitarian mission for Luhansk under the aegis of the International Committee of the Red Cross," the office said in a statement.

They "also discussed a schedule for the implementation of the Association Agreement with the EU and issues of energy-related cooperation and the resumption of negotiations on natural gas in the trilateral EU-Ukraine-Russia format," it said.

Poroshenko invited Barroso to visit Kyiv. Barroso responded that he was considering visiting the Ukrainian capital early next month, the office said.