Updated on 12:14 p.m. Moscow Time
MOSCOW, September 6 (RIA Novosti) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is ready to cooperate with Moscow on the delivery of the second humanitarian aid convoy to eastern Ukraine, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told RIA Novosti in an interview.
“We have already contacted the leaders of the International Committee of the Red Cross who were in general positive regarding our efforts and expressed readiness to cooperate on the delivery of humanitarian aid. We are now discussing the practical details of this operation and expect it to be accomplished,” Gatilov said.
The diplomat added that this time, humanitarian aid will be delivered by railroad.
“All the possible parameters of its delivery are being discussed with the Red Cross. I cannot disclose the details at the moment. In general, the fact that the first humanitarian convoy was accomplished successfully, which was acknowledged by the International Red Cross in particular, lays the ground for their active participation in the second stage,” Gatilov told RIA Novosti.
On Thursday, Russia’s Emergency Situations Deputy Minister Vladimir Artamonov said Russia had some 2,000 tons of humanitarian cargo, including food and drinking water, prepared for the delivery to southeastern Ukraine.
The cargo could only be sent to Ukraine after the ICRC addressed the Ukrainian authorities and confirms that the convoy carries humanitarian aid, he said.
The first convoy of 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 after more than a week of waiting at the border.
