Peacekeepers for Donbas discussed at Normandy Format meeting in Berlin

The political directors of Ukraine, Germany, France and Russia at a meeting in Berlin agreed to continue the work on defining the basic principles of a peacekeeping operation in Donbas, the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has reported, following the first meeting of political directors of the Normandy Format on July 26.

"There was a substantive discussion on the modalities of a future UN-led peacekeeping operation, which should contribute to the implementation of the Minsk agreements and the restoration of Ukraine's sovereignty over temporarily occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Despite significant disagreements with the Russian side, the representatives of Ukraine, Germany, France and Russia agreed to continue the work on defining the basic principles of a peacekeeping operation in the conflict zone," reads the report.

The ministry emphasized that the fundamental issue for the Ukrainian side, among other things, is that the mandate of the future operation should extend to the entire temporarily occupied territory, including the Ukrainian-Russian border in the conflict zone, envisage the withdrawal of foreign armed units, military equipment and mercenaries and also contribute to establishing peace in the region.

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