Poroshenko determined to return Crimea back to Ukraine

One of the priority goals of Ukraine's new president-elect will be the solution of the Crimean issue, Interfax Ukraine reports.

"One of the first priorities of the work of the president and all Ukrainian authorities will be the solution of the Crimean issue: the return of the Crimea to Ukraine, the protection of the Ukrainians living in the Crimea, who, because of being Ukrainians, now suffer from extremely high pressure," said Poroshenko at a briefing in Kiev on Monday.

In addition, Petro Poroshenko believes that Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk should retain the post of the prime minister.

"Under the Constitution, presidential elections do not entail the resignation of the prime minister. I have no plans to change the government," said Poroshenko at a briefing in Kiev on Monday.

"I believe that the activities of Mr. Yatsenuk as Prime Minister is quite successful," said the "chocolate tycoon."

Deputy Chairman of the State Duma, Nikolai Levichev, in an interview with Pravda.Ru, shared his views about Poroshenko as President:

"Poroshenko's victory in the first round means that the Ukrainian citizens have chosen the lesser evil of those that were presented during this amazing presidential campaign. Given that the previous illegitimate Kiev government managed to return to the previous version of the constitution of the country, it is difficult to understand what this election means, to which extent this process is a constitutional one and  how it will contribute to the pacification of the situation in Ukraine.

"Poroshenko's statements are very inconsistent. On the one hand, he pointed out the fact that Russia is and will forever be a powerful and desirably friendly neighbor of the sovereign Ukraine. On the other hand, his wish to visit the Donbass region is quite provocative against the backdrop of the fact that the regions had united into the republic of Novorossia, and most citizens of both the Luhansk and Donetsk regions deliberately did not participate in the presidential elections. Therefore, we can wait and see what Poroshenko's advisers overseas will tell him to do," said the expert.