Poroshenko, Guterres agree on visit by UN Under-Secretary-General to Ukraine

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have agreed on a visit by the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs to Ukraine, Deputy Head of Ukraine's Presidential Administration Kostiantyn Yeliseyev has said.

He told journalists in South Bound Brook, New Jersey, the United States, on Wednesday that the purpose of the visit was to continue the efforts to free Ukrainian hostages and begin a dialogue on preparations for deploying a UN peacekeeping mission to Donbas.

"There was a proposal from the Secretary-General to use the so-called 'good services.' This proposal was listened to with interest," Yeliseyev said, when asked by an Ukrinform reporter to comment on the results of a meeting between Poroshenko and Guterres.

He said that during the meeting the president had passed letters of appeal from the relatives and all Ukrainians demanding the immediate and unconditional release of Ukrainian sailors captured by Russia and again called on the UN Secretary-General to use the powers provided by the UN Charter to implement this humanitarian mission.

"Secondly, this, of course, is the sending of a so-called technical assessment mission of the UN Secretariat to Donbas in order to prepare proposals on the parameters of a possible peacekeeping operation. The president clearly stated that the powers of the Secretary-General envisage such an opportunity, and the consent of any member country of the United Nations or a permanent member of the Security Council is not required for this," Yeliseyev said.

He said he hoped for progress in this issue.

"In particular, it was agreed that the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs would visit Ukraine in the near future in order to start this dialogue," he said.

At the same time, Yeliseyev could not disclose the date of a possible visit.

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