Poroshenko to present in New York idea of deploying UN peacekeepers in Donbas

The idea of deploying a UN peacekeeping mission in Donbas will be presented at a meeting of the UN General Assembly in New York in September.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko stated this in Severodonetsk on Tuesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"I intend to present the idea with peacekeepers in New York next month, at a session of the UN General Assembly," he said.

Poroshenko recalled that on July 24, during preliminary phone talks between the leaders of the states in the Normandy format, he voiced this initiative - the need to deploy in Donbas a UN peacekeeping mission mandated by the UN Security Council.

"This would be a guarantee that they will stop firing in Donbas, a guarantee that Russia will stop supplying militants and withdraw its regular units, take away its weapons it supplied in order to kill Ukrainians," he said.

At the same time, the head of state noted that the issue of a UN peacekeeping mission and an OSCE armed mission "is moving very hard."

According to him, everything depends on Russia's categorical reluctance to establish peace in Donbas.

"In a situation when Russia continues to carry out provocations, inciting disturbances, international presence remains a key element of the security component of the Minsk agreements... This constant presence of the OSCE is a prerequisite for completing the separation of forces and means in Stanytsia Luhanska," Poroshenko said.

He also said that the OSCE monitoring mission should also be able to open the respective patrol bases near the uncontrolled section of the Ukrainian-Russian border.

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