MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Former President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE PA) Ilkka Kanerva told Sputnik Wednesday that Russia's initiative to send UN peacekeepers to eastern Ukraine to ensure the security of OSCE monitors is important and should be in line with the Minsk agreements.
On Tuesday, Russia proposed a draft resolution on sending UN peacekeepers to Donbass to provide security for the OSCE motoring mission after Putin voiced the idea. The Russian leader pointed out that peacekeepers should operate solely on the contact line between Kiev's and the self-proclaimed republics' forces.
"You know quite well that the devil is in the details and I would like to know the details but on the principle level, all constructive ideas are welcomed… It is very important and it would be a constructive idea if it is in line with Minsk agreements. It is also important that all sides to the conflict, including Ukraine, and mediators to be in favor of this idea," Kanerva said.
Kiev insists that the mission’s mandate should be broader than initially proposed, and that the peacekeepers should be deployed from the contact line all the way to the Ukrainian-Russian border. At the same time, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry noted that the deployment of peacekeepers could help restore peace in the region.
Putin's initiative was supported by German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who said this chance to stabilize the situation in Donbass should be taken advantage of.
The head of Ukraine's self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) Igor Plotnitsky said on Tuesday that any discussions on the possible deployment of UN peacekeepers to Donbass would be possible if Kiev implemented the Minsk agreements.
