UN peacemakers or EU mission additional factors in Donbas stabilization – Klimkin

Kyiv stands for an immediate increase of OSCE monitors in Ukraine but will ask for UN peacemakers or an EU mission to stabilize the situation in Donbas, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has said.

"The OSCE mission must be reinforced, with its technical equipment significantly improved," he said in an interview with Kommersant, published on Monday.

"But with that we need an additional stabilization factor – either UN peacemakers or an EU mission," Klimkin said.

Klimkin underlined that "it is not about replacing the OSCE mission or a deviation of any kind from the Minsk agreements."

"It is needed to stabilize the situation and ensure the implementation of the Minsk agreements," he said.

According to the Klimkin, Kyiv believes that there are too few OSCE monitors in Ukraine.

"Besides, we proposed to place SMM monitors on a regular basis at key directions, where there is shelling from Donetsk and Luhansk. But the OSCE can't do that because of safety reasons. As a result, they come and go, and shelling begins just after the mobile patrol is gone," Klimkin said.