MOSCOW, January 30. /TASS/. The European Union is a party to the Ukraine conflict and therefore it cannot act as a ceasefire monitor, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said at a news conference.

"As regards the specific question, the EU cannot [act as an observer of a ceasefire], because the EU is a party to the conflict which cannot be a monitor," he noted.

"There is no speaking about any role as a guarantor for the EU <…>, given the disastrous experience it has accumulated in recent years and its subversive role. That’s [a monitoring role for the EU] out of the question, and I think, everybody understands that," the senior Russian diplomat added.