MOSCOW, September 20 (RIA Novosti) - International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has announced it will not contribute to the delivery of the Russian humanitarian convoy to southeastern Ukraine, as there is no agreement between Moscow and Kiev on the technical aspects of this operation, according to the press release of the organization.
"So far, Ukraine and Russia have not reached a final agreement on the terms and conditions of a cross-border aid operation. In the absence of such agreements, we cannot facilitate the passage of convoys from Russia. However, we are continuing to advise on and facilitate the distribution of aid by the local authorities," Laurent Corbaz, head of ICRC operations in Europe and Central Asia, said, according to the ICRC report published Friday. "We remain in contact with the Ukrainian and Russian authorities on their humanitarian initiatives," he added.
The first trucks of the third Russian convoy, carrying a new shipment of humanitarian aid to eastern Ukraine, started entering a customs clearance zone on the Russian side of the border with Ukraine on Friday.
The first convoy of 280 trucks, carrying Russian humanitarian aid, was sent to eastern Ukraine in late August and entered the country through a checkpoint, controlled by independence forces after spending more than a week at the border.
The second Russian humanitarian convoy was made up of 220 trucks, carrying about 1,800 tons of food, medicine, water purification equipment and power generators. It arrived in the Eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk last weekend and returned to Russia shortly after.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has demanded Russia to stop sending convoys with humanitarian aid to southeastern Ukraine, labeling them as "provocations".
According to the UN, the Kiev-led military operation against independence supporters in the Donbas region, launched in April, has killed over 3,000 people and put Ukraine's east on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe.
