Ukraine PM meets British foreign secretary over crisis

They discussed ways to end the East European country's political and economic crisis

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk met British Foreign Secretary William Hague to discuss ways to end the East European country's political and economic crisis.

During the talks here Tuesday, Yatsenyuk said his country faced a number of challenges in the spheres of security and economy and reiterated the need for coordinated action by the international community to resolve the crisis, Xinhua reported Wednesday citing a government media statement.

Hague praised the progress Ukraine had made in implementation of the April 17 Geneva peace agreement, it said.

Hague arrived in Kiev Tuesday for a two-day working visit. During his stay, he is scheduled to meet the defence and foreign ministers and the secretary of the country's National Security and Defence Council.

The Ukraine crisis, which originated from protests against the previous government's decision last November to abandon an association agreement with the European Union for Russian aid, took an abrupt turn in the past two months following bloody clashes between pro-Russian protesters and Ukrainian troops in the eastern and southern parts of the country.

To ease tensions, Ukraine, Russia, the US and the European Union reached a deal in the Swiss city of Geneva calling on all sides in the conflict to refrain from violence.