Kiev suggests new contact group talks in eastern town

The next meeting of a trilateral contact group on the Ukraine crisis could be held in a town of the country's eastern Donetsk region, Donetsk Mayor Alexander Lukyanchenko said Tuesday.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko had suggested holding the next round of talks of the contact group, involving Ukraine, Russia and the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), in Donetsk region's northern town of Sviatohirsk, Lukyanchenko said.

"I believe the situation can only be settled through talks, the ones at the highest level," he added.

However, the proposal was immediately rejected by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), as Sviatohirsk is controlled by Kiev.

"I don't think we'll go there because it is unsafe," Xinhua cited Interfax news agency as quoting Alexander Borodai, chief of the DPR.

"We'd consider Donetsk, or any city in Russia or Belarus. There are lots of places that are equally safe for all parties of the dialogue."

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said Kiev has been waiting for clear signals from Moscow and insurgents in eastern regions about their readiness for the talks.

"We need a coherent and clear message, in particular from Russia, that the separatists are going to talk," Klimkin said after a meeting here with his Italian counterpart, Federica Mogherini.