German Foreign Ministry: Unacceptable for UN to involve separatists in negotiations about peacekeepers in Donbas
It is unacceptable for the United Nations to involve separatists in the negotiation process on peacekeeping activity in the Donbas, said German Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer, UNIAN reports.
“It is unacceptable and unheard of for the UN to involve separatists in the negotiation process on peacekeeping activity in any region,” Schaefer emphasized.
According to him, it is inappropriate to talk only about the contact line, since the separatists obstruct the OSCE SMM in all Eastern Ukrainian territory, not only along the demarcation line.
The German Foreign Ministry spokesman noted that one can only speculate as to what persuaded Russian President Vladimir Putin to make such a decision.
Furthermore, Schaefer believes that Putin’s initiative should not be perceived critically straight away: “at the end of the day, we’re dealing with a specific proposal, concordant with the Ukrainians, with the exception of a few key disagreements”.
According to him, many matters of national security cannot be dealt with without Russia, including North Korea. For this reason it would be shortsighted to reject Russia’s proposal out of hand.
Schaefer’s statement notes that Germany and France will soon work on the concept of introducing a UN peacekeeping mission in the Donbas, taking into account the disparities between Ukraine and Russia.
“Together with our French partners in the Normandy Format, we will soon work on our conception, taking into account the disparities between Ukraine and Russia in introducing a ‘Blue Helmets’ mandate,” he said.
Yesterday German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel supported Putin’s statement on peacekeepers in the Donbas. In Gabriel’s opinion, this opportunity to negotiate a ceasefire in the Donbas should be utilized. Introducing peacekeepers would be the first step towards removing the sanctions on Russia.