UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon underlined the need to reassert full sovereignty over Ukraine 's territory through peaceful means when talking with Ukrainian President-elect Petro Poroshenko over the phone, a UN spokesman said here Monday.

In the phone conversation with Poroshenko Saturday, "the secretary-general said while he fully understood the Ukrainian government's need to reassert full sovereignty over its territory, he underscored that this needs to be done through peaceful means," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

The secretary-general also urged the president-elect to initiate a dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Poroshenko, a 48-year-old wealthy businessman, won an outright victory in Ukraine's presidential poll of May as more violence flared up in the country's eastern region, denting hopes for a quick realization of stability.

Following the election, Poroshenko unveiled a comprehensive plan for solving the ongoing crisis in the country, which includes provisions to end violence in the eastern regions and harmonize relationship with Russia, and vowed to do his best to seek the return of Crimea.

The presidential election took place three months after former President Viktor Yanukovych fled to Russia following months of street protests over his refusal to sign an association agreement with the European Union. Tensions have also been growing in the country's eastern regions, where activists are striving for independence after the absorption of Crimea into Russia.

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