Ukraine To Maintain Diplomatic Ties With Armenia

Ukraine's Ambassador to Armenia Ivan Kukhta will return to Yerevan next week to continue his duties.

YEREVAN -- Ukraine says it will preserve diplomatic ties with Armenia no matter how Yerevan votes at a session of the UN General Assembly on Russia's annexation of Crimea.

A spokesman for the Ukrainian Embassy in Yerevan, Ihor Roman, told journalists on March 27 that Ukraine's ambassador to Armenia, Ivan Kukhta, who was recalled by Kyiv, will return to Yerevan next week to continue his duties.

Armenian Foreign Ministry officials told RFE/RL on March 26 that Yerevan will abstain from the resolution, which affirms Ukraine's territorial integrity and calls illegal the referendum held in Crimea on joining Russia.

Kyiv recalled its ambassador last week after reports said Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, had agreed by phone that the disputed referendum on Crimea joining Russia was an "example of peoples' right for self-determination."