U.S. insists on release of Ukrainian sailors

U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker said this at the hearing entitled “Five Years After the Revolution of Dignity: Ukraine's Progress/Russia's Malign Activities” held at the U.S. Senate on June 18, 2019.

“I told the Russians that a good first step would be for Russia to release the Ukrainian sailors and vessels it seized during its unjustified attack near the Kerch Strait, which would be in keeping with the recent provisional order of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea,” the American diplomat stressed.

Volker also noted that the American side called on the Russian Federation to adhere to a long-term ceasefire.

"While we are open to supporting initial confidence-building steps, we are also focused on the central elements of Minsk implementation, starting with the ceasefire, withdrawal of foreign forces, the disarming of the illegal armed groups, and creating a situation of security in Donbas so that additional political steps that are also part of Minsk can be taken," he said.

Volker added that he had discussed this issue with the French and German sides.

"In addition to our own bilateral efforts, we support the French and German efforts in the Normandy Quartet and the work of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in the Trilateral Contact Group, and we coordinate closely to ensure our bilateral efforts and negotiations complement these efforts. Unfortunately, Russia has been stalling and uninterested in progress for the past 18 months," he stressed.

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