国内英语新闻:Poroshenko, Putin stress importance of ceasefire in E. Ukraine

KIEV, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have underlined the importance of ceasefire in eastern Ukraine during a phone conversation on Tuesday, Ukrainian presidential press service said.

"President of Ukraine and Russian President stressed the need for a comprehensive cease-fire and the regime of artillery silence, " Poroshenko's press service said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, Poroshenko said that the agreements reached last week in Milan, Italy between leaders from Ukraine, Russia and the European Union countries are paving the way for "very cautious " optimism to address the Ukrainian crisis.

While visiting an aerospace plant in the southern Dnepropetrovsk region, Poroshenko emphasized that Kiev is committed to establish a permanent truce with independence-seeking insurgents in eastern Ukraine to end the months-long conflict.

"Today there will be another attempt to declare the regime of artillery silence," Poroshenko said.

Last week, Poroshenko, Putin and several European leaders met in Milan on the sidelines of an Asia-Europe summit and agreed that the peace plan signed in Minsk on Sept. 5 was crucial importance to end bloody conflict in eastern Ukraine.

The armed confrontation between Ukrainian government forces and independence-seeking insurgents, which erupted in mid-April, has claimed at least 3,700 lives and injured more than 9,000 others.