MOSCOW, June 16. /TASS/. Russia will continue efforts to establish a sanitary zone until it guarantees the protection of its territory from Ukrainian shelling attacks, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said.
"Efforts are being made to establish a buffer, or sanitary, zone in the Kharkov Region. These efforts continue," he said in an interview with the Moscow.Kremlin.Putin program on the Rossitya-1 television channel. "Naturally, these efforts will continue until we secure Shebekino, the Belgorod Region, other our regions against such barbaric shelling attacks."
Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier in the day that Russia offers a new peace proposal on settling the conflict in Ukraine. Thus, Russia insists that the status of Crimea, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions be recognized, Ukraine declare its off-bloc and non-nuclear status, and anti-Russian sanctions be lifted. Apart from that, Ukraine is supposed to withdraw its troops from the Donbass republics and the Kherson and Zaporozhye Region before peace talks begin.