Russia has not received a response to its proposal to place Ukrainian border guards and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) monitors at the Russian section of the border near border crossings seized by militia of southeastern Ukraine, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said.
“We are waiting and we hope that response will come,” Karasin said when asked by Interfax on Tuesday.
“This entire conversation is still ahead because this is the question of the OSCE representatives’ mandate etc.,” Karasin said.
“The Russian authorities – and this was stated very clearly by [Russian President] Vladimir Putin – are interested in stopping the fighting extending a truce. Amid these conditions we are ready to continue talks and would be ready to go for Russian and Ukrainian border guards discussing joint security and predictability measures at the border and a range of other issues,” he said.
“But first of all a truce should be extended and this good will should overcome the aspiration to continue the punitive operation,” Karasin said.
When asked how many Ukrainian border guards Russia is ready to take, this is subject to negotiations, he said.
The OSCE authorities should decide on their own whether representatives of its mission currently operating in Ukraine or other employees will be placed at the border, Karasin said.
During four-party telephone talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on June 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he proposed to allow Ukrainian border guards and OSCE monitors to the Russian side of the border so that it is controlled jointly in the sections, where Ukrainian border crossings have been seized by militia.
