The UN peacekeepers in the war-torn Donbas should have a mandate to prevent the conflict from freezing, former chief of U.S. Army Europe Ben Hodges told the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission).
“If it’s a UN force, they’ve got to have a mandate that doesn’t freeze in place forever what Russia has already achieved. It’s got to be about implementing the Minsk agreement,” he said, according to VOA.
A peacekeeping force in eastern Ukraine should consist of “serious quality people” whatever their mandate, according to LTG Ben Hodges (Ret.), Former Commander of U.S. Army Europe, told the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission) Jan 24, VOA reports.
“There’s value in it but it’s got to be the right countries,” he said.
Read alsoRussia to try to locate depots where Ukraine stores Javelins - Ex-chief of U.S. Army EuropeBen Hodges recalled the time when NATO deployed its force in Bosnia and Herzegovina to implement Dayton peace accords, they “had the right rules of engagement, they were armed to the teeth, they were ready, and that communicated to the Serbs and everybody else – this was serious”.
Speaking of potential peacekeepers in Donbas, Ben Hodges concluded: “It’s got to be a very professional kind of force that everybody would respect.”
