Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov says the issue of the return of Russian officers to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) of the ceasefire and stabilization along the contact line in Donbas requires consideration and guarantees from Ukraine of their equal participation.
"No one refuses to discuss this issue, but first it must be discussed and worked out together," he told journalists, answering a question from an UNIAN correspondent in Russia under what conditions Russian officers may return to the JCCC.
Peskov said there were reasons why Russian officers had stopped participating in the JCCC and had been recalled.
"After this issue is worked out to determine the modality of their participation, certain guarantees of their equal participation, it will be possible to think about this. So far, it is difficult to talk about any specific conditions," Peskov added.
According to him, if to look back at the situation that preceded the withdrawal of Russian officers from this group, it will be clear "what prevented the continuation of this practice."
On July 27, Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories Oleksiy Reznikov said Kyiv wants Russian military officers to return to the JCCC. This will help to achieve a permanent ceasefire in the east of Ukraine.
UNIAN memo. The JCCC began work in Donbas in September 2014. It consisted of 75 Ukrainian and Russian officers in rotation every three months.
Russian representatives in the JCCC left the territory of Ukraine and returned to Russia on December 20, 2017.
Russia said the reason for such a step was the fact that since January 1, 2018, Russians wishing to visit Ukraine had to present biometric passports and provide their personal data.
According to Moscow, the new rule contradicts the Russian-Ukrainian agreement on visa-free travel of citizens.
The Russian side refused to comply with that law.
