Ukraine 'satisfied' with Saudi-led talks

KYIV, Aug 08 (AFP): Ukraine on Monday said it was "satisfied" with a summit held in Saudi Arabia over the weekend on a peace settlement to end fighting, to which Moscow was not invited.

Representatives from around 40 countries including China, India, the United States and Ukraine took part in the peace summit, which was held in Jeddah.

"We are very satisfied with the results of the summit," the head of Ukraine's presidential office, Andriy Yermak, said.

"The meeting in Saudi Arabia is a rehearsal for a world in which there is no place for savage aggression (by Russia)."

He said there was an agreement on the next meeting, "but there are no exact dates" and said that "even more countries will participate".

He said a Chinese representative was "present at all events."

"There is no reason to doubt that the principle 'Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine' is being disrupted," he added.

Russia earlier said that a peace settlement was only possible if Kyiv put down its arms.

Russia, which was not invited to the summit, said that a resolution was possible if Ukraine "stopped the hostilities and terrorist attacks" and if Western countries stopped arms supplies to Kyiv.

It also called on Ukraine to cede its occupied territories to Moscow.

"The original foundations of Ukraine's sovereignty-its neutral, non-aligned and non-nuclear status-must be confirmed," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

Over a year into Moscow's campaign in Ukraine, Kyiv's forces were pressing ahead with their long-awaited offensive to retake occupied territory.

Russian missiles struck the centre of Ukraine's Pokrovsk twice on Monday night killing eight people, including five civilians, regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said in a statement.

The second missile hit the Ukraine-controlled town near the frontline 40 minutes after the first, the governor said. It killed and injured first responders, witnesses of the strikes told a Reuters cameraman at the scene.

Two rescuers and one military person were among the dead. Nine policemen and one military person were wounded, but most of the 31 injured were civilians, including a member of the local city council, Ukrainian officials said.

Kateryna, a 58-year-old resident of Pokrovsk, was at home when she heard the first blast and thought that the attack spared her. She even told someone who called to check on her that she was alright but at this moment the place was hit for the second time.

"That's it, bang - and that's all. A flame filled up my eyes. I fell down on the floor, on the ground. My eyes (hurt) a lot…," Kateryna told Reuters in an interview pointing at multiple scratches around her eyes. She had bandages on her forehead.