MOSCOW, September 4 (RIA Novosti) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will decide on its role in the delivery of Russian humanitarian aid to southeastern Ukraine no sooner than when Moscow and Kiev agree on its conditions, ICRC spokeswoman Viktoria Zotnikova told RIA Novosti on Thursday.
“The negotiations are being held between the two parties – Russia and Ukraine – on the procedures which have to be undertaken. This is why we are waiting for these talks’ results,” the official said.
The ICRC representative added that Russia and Ukraine are to inform the humanitarian organization when they reach an agreement on the second humanitarian convoy.
“We will choose our role afterwards. We know, particularly from the media, that some options are being discussed, but we need official information in order to understand what to do next,” she stressed.
Earlier on Thursday, Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry deputy head Vladimir Artamonov said Russia has some 2,000 tons of humanitarian cargo, including food and drinking water, prepared for delivery to southeastern Ukraine. Artamonov stressed that the cargo could be sent to Ukraine only after the ICRC addresses the Ukrainian authorities and confirms that the convoy carries humanitarian aid.
The first convoy – 280 trucks carrying humanitarian aid – was sent to eastern Ukraine in August and entered the country’s territory through a checkpoint controlled by independence forces following a week of waiting at the border. Late August, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko discussed the possible delivery of a second humanitarian convoy at a meeting on the Ukrainian crisis' reconciliation in Minsk.
