DUSHANBE, July 30 (RIA Novosti) — Russia will propose the urgent creation of a humanitarian mission for violence-hit eastern Ukraine to the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and other international organizations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.
“We will lay down concrete proposals soon for the UN and OSCE, for the International Red Cross Committee and the International Organization for Migration, calling on them to urgently establish a humanitarian mission for southeastern Ukraine," Russia’s top diplomat told reporters during a visit to Tajikistan.
Lavrov said Russian authorities, namely the Emergencies Ministry, are ready to render all necessary assistance to the mission.
“I'm convinced that organizations and mechanisms that can assist in this mission exist in other states as well," Lavrov added.
The US State Department last week acknowledged that conflict-embroiled Ukraine is facing humanitarian crisis.
Moscow has described the ongoing military action as a punitive operation and has repeatedly called on Kiev to put an immediate end to the bloodshed. Russia’s Foreign Ministry has also urged the international community to intervene and investigate the crimes against humanity that occurred in Ukraine in recent months.
According to a UN report, the conflict has claimed the lives of 1,129 civilians from mid-April through July 26, with another 3,442 injured.
