Full-fledged peacekeeping mission needed in Donbas, not bodyguards for OSCE – Klimkin

17:54, 30.01.2018 1 min read

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has said a full-fledged dedicated peacekeeping mission is required in Donbas, not a mission to safeguard special monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), as Russia has suggested.

"I hope recent events, including from the U.S. side, will 'help' Moscow understand that its recommendation to deploy bodyguards for OSCE observers is senseless. A real peacekeeping mission is needed. Members of the OSCE's Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) should be able to deliberately do its work. Real peacekeepers should be given control over the situation in the occupied territories," Klimkin said on Tuesday at a briefing with the Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano in Kyiv.

Klimkin said he is in constant contact with Ukraine's partners and has spoken with U.S. Special Representative on Ukraine Kurt Volker several times before and after his meeting in Dubai with Vladislav Surkov, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Unfortunately, no result was achieved, but we will steadfastly apply pressure in order to implement the roadmap for peace," he said.