KIEV, May 14 -- The Ukrainian leadership and the country's government and parliament officials, lawmakers and international mediators gathered here on Wednesday for a roundtable "national unity" talks aimed at ending the prolonged crisis in the country.

The meeting was focused on the situation in Ukraine's eastern regions and was held under a roadmap drafted by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Among other issues, the forum discussed preparation for the upcoming presidential vote in the East European country scheduled for May 25.

During the talks, German diplomat Walter Ischinger, who was the event's mediator, emphasized that the presidential election was one of Ukraine's top short-term priorities.

"Our main goal is to ensure an inclusive, fair and transparent electoral process in Ukraine," Ischinger said.

Alexandr Turchynov, Ukrainian acting President, agreed with Ischinger and said that stabilization of the security situation in eastern Ukraine will contribute to the smooth running of the vote.

Turchynov stressed that the Ukrainian authorities stand ready for a dialogue with the regions and for deep administrative reforms to ease the tension in the east, which escalated on Tuesday after six Ukrainian army servicemen were killed in an attack by anti-government rebels.

"We are open to a dialogue. The parliament and the government are also ready for systemic changes in the administrative system," Turchynov said.

Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk, who also attended the talks, echoed Turchynov, emphasizing that Ukraine is also willing to involve international mediators to resolve the crisis in the east.

"We believe that the approval and adoption of the additional agreements at the international level should be conducted in the format of Geneva talks with participation of Ukraine, the European Union, the United States and Russia," Yatsenyuk said.

Yatsenyuk has pledged that the participants of the roundtable talks in the nearest future will pay visits to Ukrainian regions to launch a nationwide dialogue with people across the country.