Poroshenko to insist on expanded UN force with possibility of using weapons

18.09.2017 14:19

Ukrinform

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will call in his speeches at the UN for the deployment of a peacekeeping force to the Donbas and the creation of an international group of countries to support the implementation of the issues of de-occupation of Crimea.

The president's representative in the Verkhovna Rada, Bloc of Petro Poroshenko MP Iryna Lutsenko, said this at a meeting of the parliament's conciliatory council on Monday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"On Wednesday, the Ukrainian president will deliver a speech at the UN Security Council [session], as well as a speech at the UN General Assembly. The president, speaking at a Security Council meeting, will insist on the extended mandate of UN peacekeepers, which will help 'blue helmets' use weapons if necessary, and not just for self-defense," Lutsenko said.

She said that the main requirements for the peacekeeping mission were "the deployment of such a peacekeeping mission throughout the entire territory of the temporarily occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and their mandatory placement on the Ukrainian-Russian border."

Lutsenko also noted that it would concern not only the protection of the OSCE mission, but also compulsory "coercion" to demining, disarmament, withdrawal of Russian troops and instructors from Ukrainian territory.

In addition, Lutsenko said that speaking at a session of the UN General Assembly, the Ukrainian president would offer countries that oppose the annexation of Crimea to unite their efforts and create an international group to support the implementation of the issues of de-occupation of Crimea.

As Ukrinform reported, on Monday, September 18, the head of state began his working visit to the United States to participate in the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly. In particular, the president will make a speech during the general debate of the UN General Assembly, take part in the UN Security Council summit on peacekeeping issues, high-level events on UN reform issues, as well as the fight against the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes.