The Russian Foreign Ministry opposed Kyiv’s demand to place the UN peacekeeping forces on the border with Russia

The requirement of the official Kyiv to place the UN peacekeepers on the border between Ukraine and Russia contradicts the Minsk agreements. Moscow, in turn, will continue to insist on the presence of a peacekeeping contingent on the demarcation line in the Donbass. This was stated by the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, reports RBC .

“When the Ukrainian side reacted to our initiative, they said that this was not suitable, because it is necessary to start with the placement of the UN peacekeepers not on the contact line, but on the border with Russia. I do not see contradictions between Russia and Ukraine on the UN connection to the implementation of the Minsk agreements, but I see the contradictions between Ukraine and the Minsk agreements,” the Russian diplomat explained.

Lavrov made this statement during a press conference following negotiations with his French colleague Jean-Ivo Le Drian. The Russian minister also said that in the near future consultations on the placement of peacekeepers in Ukraine will be held by assistants to the leaders of the Norman Four, which includes Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany.

At the same time, the Russian Foreign Minister emphasized that Russia proposes to introduce the UN forces into the Donbass, but the security for OSCE observers. “This is not the UN forces, this is precisely the mission to promote the protection of OSCE observers. It is in full accordance with the logic of the Minsk agreements,” Lavrov explained and added that the composition of the security mission should be determined by the parties to the conflict - Kiev, as well as Donetsk and Lugansk (quote from RIA Novosti ).

The head of the French Foreign Ministry, in turn, assured that Paris would analyze the proposal of the Russian side and try to link this initiative with the Minsk agreements. Le Drian added that his initiative is “very interested”. “I believe that Russia first talks about the introduction of the UN forces into this focus of the conflict in Ukraine,” the diplomat explained.

The day before, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, speaking in the Verkhovna Rada, said that the UN peacekeeping mission should be located throughout the DPR and LPR, as well as on the border with Russia. He added that the peacekeeping mission should comply with the leading principles of the UN International Operations, recalls UNN .

“What a priori excludes the participation of representatives of the aggressor country or parties to the conflict ... There can be no coordination with Russian militants to participate in the UN future mission,” Poroshenko emphasized.

At the same time, according to him, work on the initiative cannot be the basis for the abolition of existing sanctions against the Russian Federation. “They must remain in force until the complete restoration of sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of our state through the implementation of the Minsk agreements,” the head of the Ukrainian state summed up.

On September 5, Russia, on behalf of President Vladimir Putin given at the Brix summit in China, sent a draft resolution on the placement of peacekeepers on the contact line in the Donbass.

Later, the Kremlin said that Moscow had never opposed the sending of a peacekeeping contingent to Ukraine, but opposed the solution of this issue without the participation of all parties. “Moscow has never been a opponent, Moscow has always been a opponent of discussing this issue, completely ignoring the presence of one of the parties to the conflict. This is unpromising,” said Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the President of the Russian Federation.

Earlier, the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine noted that they took into account Putin’s proposal, but consider it a distortion of the idea of ​​a peacekeeping mission, since among peacekeepers there can be no Russians and representatives of self -proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics.

The first vice-speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, a representative of Ukraine in the tripartite contact group to resolve the situation in the Donbass, Irina Gerashchenko also stated that the introduction of the UN peacekeeping mission on the line of contact in the east of Ukraine and the peacekeepers must be introduced to the entire territory of Ukraine.