MOSCOW, August 16, /ITAR-TASS/. Moscow urges to finalise all procedures to deliver the humanitarian aid from Russia to Donbass as soon as possible, Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday following a telephone conversation between Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and President of ICRC Peter Maurer.
“The two parties continued detailed discussion of issues related to urgent organisation of delivery of the Russian humanitarian cargo into regions of Ukraine’s southeast suffering from the military operations,” the foreign ministry said.
“Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) are contacting border services of Russia and of Ukraine.”
Kiev tries to review the agreements on delivery of the Russian humanitarian aid to Donbass.
“We reject categorically the malicious shifting of facts, which Ukraine’s certain authorities have been doing lately. The media report Ukraine’s Security Service says the Russian side was attempting to deliver the humanitarian aid to Donbass across the checkpoints controlled by Ukraine,” the ministry’s commentary reads. “They are also multiplying the suppositions that we have not presented information on contents of the humanitarian aid.”
“Both claims are not true to life,” the ministry said. “The convoy’s route from the Russian territory to the regions of Ukraine’s southeast suffering from the military actions has been agreed with the Ukrainian side.”
From the very beginning, Russia adopted the route, which Kiev has suggested, “but later on the Ukrainian authorities informed they did not guarantee its security and agreed for the Izvarino-Lugansk route.”
“Presenting the case otherwise means trying to review the clear understanding Moscow and Kiev have achieved,” the foreign ministry said.
As for the claims about “insufficient information,” “the detailed lists of the humanitarian aid, including numbers of packs, validity and so on, have been presented by us to headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross several days ago.”
“We have not received from their any additional “requests” to specify or give further details,” the ministry said.
“Thus, we are at least surprised at the aspiration to present the case the way the Russian side has been delaying with presentations of some documents to the Red Cross.”
Moscow considers the situation as “another attempt to interfere with delivery of the Russian humanitarian aid to the people in Donbass.”
“Those involved in it and who at the same time orders attacking the Izvarino-Lugansk route, agreed with Kiev, bear direct responsibility for the developing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine’s southeast,” the ministry said.
“It is necessary to guarantee immediately and fully safety of the coming action, including ceasefire for the its term, as well as to settle together with ICRC staff working there, Ukrainian customs and border guard the outstanding technical issues with the delivery of humanitarian aid to people in Donbass,” the ministry’s commentary reads.