MOSCOW, December 29. /TASS/. Russian Presidential Children’s Rights Commissioner Pavel Astakhov and Ukrainian children’s ombudsman Mykola Kuleba agreed to establish constructive humanitarian partnership to help children in south-east Ukraine, the Russian children’s ombudsman press service reported on Monday after his telephone talks with Ukrainian counterpart.
First and foremost, children’s ombudsmen believe that current information exchange is needed about children who were affected or wounded in gunfire and need urgent treatment and evacuation. Astakhov confirmed Russia was ready to take these children to its medical institutions and provide them with qualified medical aid. “Wounded children should be treated first of all. No matter where these children will be cured — in America, Germany, Israel, but they should receive all aid they need. And Russia is ready to give this aid,” Astakhov noted.
The Russian children’s ombudsman offered the Ukrainian counterpart to have a working meeting in the near future.
For his part, Kuleba thanked the children’s rights commissioner for the readiness to cooperation and confirmed the need to establish dialogue. “Children need aid and we have nothing to argue about,” Kuleba’s press service said.
The post of the Ukrainian presidential children’s rights commissioner was abolished on October 17 and all his employees were dismissed. Yuriy Pavlenko worked as previous children’s ombudsman, who filed for resignation on February 20, 2014. The post of children’s ombudsman was reinstated in Ukraine on December 19.