Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Monday he will this week propose a detailed peace plan, including a cease-fire with separatist rebels in the country's east.
Poroshenko spoke as opened a meeting of the country's national Security Council. "A cease-fire will be proposed as the beginning of implementation of the president's peace plan," he said, in remarks carried by Interfax and other news agencies.
Ukraine has struggled to suppress an insurgency by armed pro-Russian separatists who have seized government buildings, held disputed referendums and declared independence. More than 300 people have died, including 49 service members killed when a Ukrainian transport plane was shot down Saturday.
Poroshenko outlined a peace proposal in his inaugural address on June 7. He said he was willing to negotiate, to offer amnesty to fighters who did not have "blood on their hands" and to protect the use of the Russian language. He also proposed a jobs program and early parliamentary elections.
Ukraine accuses Russia of backing the rebels, which Russia denies. The conflict has intensified in recent days with the shooting down of the airplane and a cutoff of gas supplies to Ukraine by Russia's state-owned Gazprom.
There was no immediate word on whether or under what conditions the separatists would agree to any eventual cease-fire offer.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Daniela Bobeva said the Bulgarian government can ensure natural gas supplies for at least three to four months if a price dispute between Moscow and Kiev leads to supply disruptions.
Bulgaria is one of the European Union countries most exposed to possible gas supply cuts, as it gets almost all of its gas from Russia's Gazprom via one route through Ukraine.
"We made a decision to increase the gas stockpile, and we also have ideas for alternative supplies," Bobeva told reporters.
Russia cut off gas to Ukraine on Monday in a dispute over unpaid bills that could disrupt supplies to the rest of Europe and set back hopes for peace in the former Soviet republic.
In a separate statement, the Bulgarian energy ministry said gas inflows from Russia had not been disrupted for the time being. It said the country had gas stocks that could meet demand for at least 100 days at about 65 percent of the daily need.
The Balkan country can also reverse an existing gas pipeline with Greece and receive additional quantities of up to 3 million cubic meters (mcm) per day from Greece in case of emergency.
The country's daily gas need stands at an average of 3.3 mcm per day.
Journalists
Two journalists from Russian TV station Zvezda were released in southeastern Ukraine after being detained at a Ukrainian military checkpoint over the weekend.
In written statements read aloud to journalists in the regional administration building in Dnipropetrovsk after their release, both Evgeny Davidov and Nikita Konashenkov referred to the date May 13, prompting journalists to ask whether the two meant June instead of May.
"There was no physical violence used against me. All of the physical injuries, I received on May 13, during a drunken fight," Konashenkov said.
"On June 13," he added, when asked to clarify the date.
Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration reported that Davidov and Konashenkov were detained for "propaganda and manipulation of facts" near a Ukrainian military checkpoint on Saturday (June 14).
Upon release, the two were turned over to an attache of the Russian Embassy in Ukraine, the administration said.
REUTERS/AP