Russian-speakers in Ukraine suffer only where Russian troops are deployed – Volker

According to the U.S. envoy, the objective of the Minsk agreements, supported both by Russia and the United States and to which Ukraine agreed, is the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty in the country's east. And one of the issues that Russia constantly raises in the course of discussions is the need to ensure the security of the Russian-speaking population in the conflict zone. The United States agrees with such need, Volker told Gazeta.ru.

Read alsoVolker, Surkov to discuss "restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity" in BelgradeAt the same time, he says that the problem is that the only place in Ukraine where the Russian-speaking population is endangered is where the Russian troops are present.

Volker has also stressed that the main idea of the international peacekeeping mission is to ensure security in the conflict zone and, thus, to ensure that the Russian-speaking population feels protected.

Read alsoVolker: Russia's aggression in Ukraine fails to achieve its goals, has opposite effectHe also said that the UN peacekeeping mission will become the basis for the implementation of Minsk agreements. Therefore, the positions of Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany have much in common, he added.

Volker has also added that the question now is how it is possible to move from a Russian proposal for a peacekeeping mission, announced in New York, to a broader approach, to avoid deeper contradictions within Ukraine and set up conditions for ensuring security in the conflict zone, as well as for the implementation of Minsk agreements.