"How much it will cost? This should be calculated by the Secretary General or his services of the UN secretariat. A preliminary figures I've heard is at least US$1 billion a year. But let me tell you again – I'm not an expert who does [such estimates] regularly," he told Channel 112 Ukraine.
He explained that the peacekeeping mission in Donbas in the event of a positive decision on its deployment throughout the occupied areas in eastern Ukraine, including the Russian-Ukrainian border, would be financed from the UN peacekeeping budget. "There is a regular budget, there is a budget for peacekeeping operations," Yelchenko said.
Read alsoPoroshenko insists on UN peacekeepers deployment in DonbasAs UNIAN reported, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on August 22 he planned to send a motion to the UN General Assembly the coming month asking for deploying a peacekeeping mission in Donbas. He recalled that during telephone conversations of the Normandy Four leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France on July 24 he noted the need to introduce a UN peacekeeping mission in Donbas with a UN Security Council mandate.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on September 5 he supported the idea of UN peacekeepers in Donbas but only if they are deployed along the contact line to ensure the safety of OSCE SMM observers. He said he had instructed the Russian Foreign Ministry to introduce a relevant resolution for consideration by the UN Security Council. At the same time, he noted that the issue could not be resolved without direct contact with representatives of the self-proclaimed Donbas republics.
Later, Putin's press secretary, Dmitriy Peskov, said there were no modalities as for the deployment of peacekeepers in Donbas. The issue is due to be discussed in the Normandy format, he said.
