Ukraine is in talks with the European Union countries over the possibility of the EU sending a mission to Donbas, Ukrainian Ambassador to the EU Kostiantyn Yeliseyev said.
“We have suggested that the EU should send an assessment mission to
Donbas in the very near future, which would arrive and see what should
be done and how. This is a necessary component for discussing, planning
and taking a relevant decision,” the ambassador said in an interview
with the Dzerkalo Tyzhnia (The Weekly Mirror) newspaper, published on
Saturday.
A consensus among all EU members is enough for such a mission to be
sent, he said. This is why all efforts of the Ukrainian diplomacy are
now focused on making sure such as consensus is achieved. “We delivered
our proposals which describe clearly 15 possible tasks the future EU
mission could be fulfilling. I will stress: in support of implementation
of the Minsk agreements,” said Yeliseyev, stressing that deployment of
the EU operation was by no means against such agreements. “On the
contrary, it will foster their implementation. The EU mission will work
together and in coordination with the OSCE (Organization for Security
and Co-operation in Europe) mission,” he said.
The EU has big experience in ensuring free and democratic elections
in former “hotspots” – the Balkans, Yeliseyev recalled. “So, in our
view, deployment of such a mission would be a visible EU contribution in
supporting peace and stability in Ukraine. Because right now only a
reinforced OSCE mission and several more armored vehicles or a few
million euros more from the EU is not enough. We believe that the EU
contribution must be more substantial and concrete. We are currently
holding a discussion with our partners,” the ambassador said.
