Gatilov reiterated that Moscow supports Minsk
agreements.
UN,
September 21. /TASS/. Russia does not see any sense in deployment of the UN
security mission on the Russian-Ukrainian border, Russian Deputy Foreign
Minister Gennady Gatilov said in an interview with TASS in response to a
request for comment about the Russian draft resolution on the UN security
mission in Donbass.
"They
[Ukraine’s representatives - TASS] want the UN [security mission] to fan out
across Ukraine, including the Russian-Ukrainian border," he said.
"Russia is not a conflicting party, so there is no sense in deploying
peacemakers along its border."
Gatilov stressed that Moscow supports the Minsk accords that contain "a whole range of issues to be addressed before the situation shifts to a conversation about the Russian-Ukrainian border."
"Ukrainians put the cart before the horse: they want first to close
the border between Russia and Ukraine and then to solve or not solve issues
related to other settlement aspects," he noted. "We do not share this
approach, as it contradicts the Minsk accords," the Russian deputy foreign
minister stated.
On September 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed the UN mission should be deployed along the Donbass contact line to provide security for the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission members. He noted that it would be possible to deploy a mission if the self-proclaimed republics (the DPR and the LPR) agreed to it and if weapons were withdrawn by the conflicting parties as set in the Minsk accords. The president specified later that it was possible to deploy this mission not just along the contact line, but also in other areas that the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission visits for inspection under the Minsk accords.
Source: ITAR-TASS 21-09-2017
