"They haven't done anything for three years". Putin's format of peacekeepers in the Donbass is unacceptable - Volker

The initiative of Russia on the deployment of UN peacekeepers only along the line of conflict in the Donbass is unacceptable. United States special envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker said this in an interview with VOA's Ukrainian Service chief Myroslava Gongadze, which she posted on Facebook.

Russia's proposal earlier this month at the UN called for peacekeepers along the line of conflict in eastern Ukraine, but not along the Russia-Ukraine border. Volker called it a "very narrow concept" that would have the effect of dividing the country even further.

"That's not acceptable to anybody and does not restore the territory", - he said. "On the other hand, if we can establish a peacekeeping force and build that concept into one that is covering the entire contested area, that is containing heavy weapons and that is controlling the Ukraine-Russian border from the Ukrainian side, then there is a lot of promise in that. That's where both governments are right now seeing whether it is possible to expand this concept into one that would be truly meaningful and helpful", - he added.

In Volker’s opinion, Russia would not offer anything if it were not ready for negotiations on the introduction of peacekeepers into the Donbass.

"They haven't done anything for three years on this. They haven't proposed a peacekeeping force before. As recently as a couple weeks ago, they were saying that they would never want the UN there. So, the fact that they opened this conversation, to me, is an indication that they are willing to discuss it", - he noted.