MOSCOW, June 4 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow’s western partners in the UN Security Council do not support the Russian draft resolution on Ukraine as they believe that Eastern Ukraine does not suffer from humanitarian issues, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told RIA Novosti Wednesday.
“Unfortunately, our western partners did not support the Russian initiative, as they consider that there are no humanitarian problems in Eastern Ukraine,” he said.
On Monday, Russia circulated a draft UN Security Council resolution urging to stop violence in the east of Ukraine and set up humanitarian corridors to allow the civilians to leave the territory of the military operation. The draft also contains measures needed to implement the Geneva communique and the OSCE roadmap on Ukraine.
Even before the draft was circulated, the US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki called the proposal “hypocritical.”
UK Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said there were many “elements” that would need to be added in the draft, including a reference to Ukraine's territorial integrity.
Russia’s UN envoy Vitaly Churkin called the Western approach as hardly constructive.
According to Churkin, “some our Western partners continued deliberating on Kiev’s right to use force to crack down on the so-called separatists and the need to request additional information, or, so to say, they impede the discussion of the issue.”
Starting from mid-April, Kiev authorities have been conducting a special military operation in the east of Ukraine to suppress the pro-independence movement. Military activities were halted during the May 25 presidential elections, only to resume the next day.
Moscow has repeatedly called on Kiev to stop the punitive operation, which has already claimed hundreds of lives.
