Even if UN peacekeepers fail to solve Donbas conflict, they'll pave the way – Kravchuk

18:36, 23.02.2018 1 min read

Ukraine's first President Leonid Kravchuk has said that introducing a United Nations peacekeeping contingent in Donbas will help stop Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine.

"I don't think that there will be a UN peacekeeping mission, but this step must be taken. Even if peacekeepers cannot fully stop the conflict, they will pave the way," Kravchuk said.

The former Ukrainian head of state was speaking at the Fourth Baltic-Black Sea Forum "Solidifying Safety of Baltic-Black Sea Region Countries as a Consensus Strategy for Big Europe" in Kyiv on Friday.

"Everyone knows the Minsk peace accords are not working. It is necessary to expand the format. I think it is time to raise this issue openly, or change it, by adding Poland, the United States or other countries," Kravchuk said, adding that it is pointless to hope for the situation to improve after so-called Russian presidential elections scheduled for March 18.

"It's their nature. Russia has been fighting for 150 years. A political war elite has been created there," Kravchuk said.