Russia must cede border by end of yr

President Petro Poroshenko has stressed that Ukraine must regain control of its eastern border by the end of December even if full implementation of a February peace deal with Russia is delayed until 2016.

The Western-backed leader was seeking to clarify his stance in view of remarks by French President Francois Hollande at a media event held after a summit meeting on the crisis in Paris on Friday.

Poroshenko told Ukrainian television late Sunday: "The border is a key component of our sovereignty and we are not going to compromise over it."

Hollande said he saw no way the February deal could conceivably be implemented by its end-of-year-deadline.