KIEV, August 27 (RIA Novosti) – Kiev is expecting to hold consultations with members of the International Red Cross and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) soon in a trilateral contact group on settling the crisis in eastern Ukraine and a second Russian aid convoy, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry’s head of information policy, Yevgeniy Perebiynis, said Wednesday.
“We believe that the solution of the expediency of sending Russian humanitarian aid needs to be preceded by consultations that bring results with the participation of the International Red Cross, a three-party contact group, the OSCE, with the goal of explaining the actual need for such aid, as well as the list of goods and their volume, receiving clear guarantees for the safety of humanitarian cargo and individuals escorting [the cargo] through Ukrainian territory, as well as agreeing on a detailed route for the delivery of the cargo,” Perebiynis said.
Perebiynis added that sending further humanitarian aid to the east of Ukraine can only be considered if the cargo is controlled by the Ukrainian border and customs guards and passed to the Red Cross, which would be responsible for its delivery, storage and distribution.
“If this position is taken into account, the consultations between all parties and institutions involved will take place in the near future,” Perebiynis stated.
Earlier on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia had officially informed Ukraine of its plans to send an additional humanitarian convoy within the next few days.
On August 22, a convoy of 280 trucks with 2,000 tons of humanitarian aid arrived in Ukraine’s eastern city of Luhansk, where a military operation has been ongoing since mid-April.
