Peacekeeping troops of the UN may enter Ukraine

The coordinator of German-Russian cooperation in the German Foreign Ministry, Gernot Erler, believes that German peacekeepers...

The German government's commissioner for cooperation with Russia and the countries of the 'Eastern Partnership', Gernot Erler, stated that he does not rule out the deployment of UN peacekeepers with Germany's participation to the border of Ukraine and Russia. This was stated by the politician in an interview with the German newspaper Leipziger Volkszeitung.

The diplomat noted that in the framework of UN peacekeeping operations, military personnel perform strategic tasks. 'These are peacekeeping soldiers, who are usually deployed to control the implementation of agreements, peace treaties, or peaceful strategies,' he noted.

For now, in Erler's opinion, there are no grounds for sending peacekeepers to Ukraine. He added that efforts should currently focus on achieving de-escalation of the conflict through diplomatic means.

According to him, once it becomes clear what results these efforts have brought, then, based on the objectives that peacekeepers perform, 'it cannot be ruled out that such matters can be considered.'

At the same time, the spokesperson for the German federal government, Christian Wirth, stated that the UN Security Council is not considering the possibility of sending a UN peacekeeping mission to Ukraine, reports ipress.ua

The spokesperson reminded that the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is actively participating in the process of facilitating the de-escalation of the situation in eastern Ukraine. With its assistance, international observers can be sent to Ukraine, and this is currently the path that the German government is taking, the spokesperson emphasized. Peacekeepers from the UN may arrive at the Ukrainian-Russian border if the conflict cannot be resolved otherwise.