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German top diplomat comments on initiative to deploy UN mission in Donbass

The German foreign minister says UN peacekeepers’ deployment to Donbass may contribute to lifting sanctions against Russia

© EPA/ATEF SAFADI

BERLIN, September 5. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s initiative to deploy UN peacekeepers to Donbass may help ease tensions with Moscow, German Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Tuesday.

"I see reports that Putin has publicly voiced an initiative to do what we with the chancellor have been insisting on for months, that is to deploy a United Nations peacekeeping mission to Donbass to secure the ceasefire," he said at the latest Bundestag’s session. "This is our chance! Let us make use of it. We need more of the detente policy."

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Kiev demands Russian representatives be excluded from Donbass peacekeeping mission

UN peacekeepers’ deployment to Donbass may contribute to lifting sanctions against Russia, he said. "If things work out well with the blue helmets, this would be the first step for removing sanctions against Russia," Gabriel stressed. "A new phase of the detente policy" towards Moscow could start, he added.

"It would be good if Germany and Europe start discussing new ways to ease tensions," he said. "By proposing to deploy peacekeepers to Ukraine, Russia has changed its policy towards Ukraine. We should not miss this moment," Gabriel added.

Earlier on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow plans to submit a resolution to the United Nations Security Council on the deployment of UN peacekeepers along the line of engagement in Donbass to ensure safety of the OSCE mission. He stressed however that the deployment of UN peacekeepers could only be possible after the withdrawal of weapons from the area and with the consent of the self-proclaimed Donbass republics.

According to the Russian leader, the deployment of UN forces tasked to ensure the OSCE mission’s security will help solve the problem in southeastern Ukraine.

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