DONETSK (Sputnik) — Deploying a peacekeeping mission in Donbass should be coordinated with the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), while Kiev’s unilateral actions could have a negative impact on the implementation of agreements on the conflict's settlement, the acting foreign minister of the DPR, Natalya Nikonorova, told Sputnik on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko urged the United Nations to deploy a peacekeeping mission in Donbass as soon as possible after a proper technical assessment. According to media reports, Kiev has already submitted its draft resolution on a peacekeeping in Donbas for the UNSC consideration.
"The statement by Petro Poroshenko about the need to deploy a technical mission to Donbass is another manifestation of the careless attitude of the Ukrainian authorities to the peace process, as the negotiation process has not even been started with the representatives of the republics on this issue yet… Unilateral actions can only negatively influence the possibility of implementing the peace agreements," Nikonorova said.
According to the DPR's acting foreign minister, despite the assurances by the Ukrainian authorities about the readiness to compromise, Kiev representatives are departing from the implementation of the Minsk agreements, and "are increasingly inclined to taking various steps without considering the interests of the population of DPR and LPR."
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko stressed several times that Kiev would not coordinate the parameters of work of UN peacekeepers in Donbass with local militias.
"The principle of coordination of the positions of the parties is a fundamental measure… As the basis for this implementation [of Minsk agreements] is the adoption of all terms, modalities and mechanisms by the two conflicting parties – Kiev and Donbass," Nikonorova said.
Nikonorova added that the functions of assessment and monitoring of the situation in Donbass have been laid on the OSCE mission, and by requiring a UN peacekeeping mission Poroshenko urged for duplicating of existing bodies.
On September 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he supported the idea of sending peacekeepers to Ukraine in order to ensure the security of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) mission in Donbass. Poroshenko called Russia’s proposal to deploy UN peacekeepers strange, but expressed readiness to discuss the deployment of such a mission in the region with the UN Security Council, and without Russia's participation in it.
