Ukraine considers the EU mission in the framework of the Common Security and Defense Policy the best option of peacekeeping operation in Donbas, as stated by President Petro Poroshenko at the meeting with Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn in Kyiv.
The Head of State has outlined clear position: "Russia, as country-aggressor, cannot and will not take part in the peacekeeping operation". "Ukraine will not agree to a peacekeeping format, which threatens to legalize thousands of Russian militaries – we already have enough such "peacekeepers"," Petro Poroshenko noted.
The President has informed on the decision of the National Security and Defense Council to appeal to the UN Security Council with a request for an international peacekeeping mission to ensure the preservation of peace in Donbas and control the Ukrainian-Russian border in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. "The format of the European Union Police Mission is preferable," the President added.
The President and the European Commissioner have discussed the situation in Donbas and the problems in the implementation of the Minsk agreements. "All violations of the Minsk agreements observed recently should be properly assessed by our partners – the European Union, USA, Canada and the whole world," the President emphasized.
Petro Poroshenko and Johannes Hahn have also discussed the humanitarian situation in Donbas and the interaction for its stabilization. The President has thanked the European Union, which had already provided EUR 95 million for the humanitarian needs of the people affected by the conflict.