U.S. Special Representative on Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker said on Thursday that he supported the idea of locating observers in the Azov Sea region on Ukrainian territory and at the invitation of the Ukrainian side exclusively.

I think that the best option for international observers is to be placed in that part of the territory of Ukraine that is not the subject of territorial disputes, and on Ukrainian ships, moreover, at the invitation of the Ukrainian leaders, he said.

The presence of international observers in addition to the Ukrainian presence could be a rather positive element to add more observers to oversee the situation, said Volker, noting that the presence of observers in this area could be helpful in avoiding situations like the incident in Kerch Strait in November last year.