Russia agrees to deploy peacekeepers outside the demarcation line in Donbas
Russia has agreed that the UN peacekeeping mission should have access not only to the line of demarcation in the Donbas, but also to other territory where OSCE conducts its inspection visits.
This was stated in a message from the Kremlin's press service, following phone discussions between Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"Taking into account the views expressed by Angela Merkel, the Russian leader noted his readiness to supplement the functions of the UN mission proposed in the Russian draft resolution of the Security Council. He intends that the protection of OSCE observers by the UN be carried out not only on the contact line that divides the forces and assets of the two sides, but also in other places where the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) conducts its inspection visits in accordance with the Minsk Set of Measures," it says.
There is no mention of the Ukrainian-Russian border in the message. President Petro Poroshenko said at the end of August that SMM could not open observation bases near the uncontrolled section of the Ukrainian-Russian border, although this is stipulated within the Minsk agreements.
On September 5, Russian President Putin expressed support for the idea of deploying a peacekeeping mission in eastern Ukraine. At the same time, Putin said that it should only stand on the line of demarcation, and Ukraine should coordinate it with the DPR (Donetsk People’s Republic) and LPR (Luhansk People’s Republic). A corresponding Russian resolution has been sent to the UN Security Council.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, speaking at the Verkhovna Rada on September 7, said that the peacekeeping mission should neither include representatives from the DPR or LPR nor from Russia, and its mandate should extend to the entire territory of the occupied Donbas. Additionally, Poroshenko refused to agree on the parameters of the mission with the "Russian militants."