Moscow - Russia backs the proposal made by the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics to put the OSCE Monitoring Mission in charge of monitoring ceasefire observance, Andrei Kelin, Russian envoy to the OSCE, said.
“We are positive about this idea. It proceeds from seven items of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ceasefire plan, which talks about control over the newly created security zone,” Kelin said on Friday.
Kelin said the OSCE observers who are now in Ukraine can monitor the situation without the expansion of their mandate provided appropriate agreements are reached.
“I would like to say that the OSCE mission is already on the territory of Ukraine and its mandate is fairly broad, it involves collection of information on security in the zone of the operation, and therefore the mission’s mandate will not have to be changed,” Kelin said.
“Monitoring will largely depend on human resources,” the diplomat said.
Interfax previously learned some details of the draft peace plan to stabilize the situation in southeastern Ukraine proposed by the administrations of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics.
The text of the draft plan possessed by Interfax says: “to stabilize the situation and stop the bloodshed in the southeast, we are offering a number of measures, primarily, the introduction of a temporary ceasefire regime from 3 p.m. on Sept. 5 by the Ukrainian force structures and the militia of the southeast.”
Among other measures in the draft plan is a ban on flights over the self-proclaimed republics from 3 p.m. Sept. 5 by fighter aircraft.
The leaders of the self-proclaimed republics suggest “providing the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) mission with airspace objective monitoring data obtained from Russian systems.”
“To conduct international regulation of the ceasefire and monitoring of the situation under the OSCE aegis, and to that end to divide the security zone being created into five sectors, each with a monitoring mission of up to 40 members, and three or four stationary and two or three mobile monitoring posts,” the draft said.
The posts will be provided with surveillance, communication and video-recording facilities.
The draft plan also involves the opening of humanitarian corridors to refugees and aid deliveries to the cities and towns in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions by car and by rail from 10 a.m. on Sept. 7.
Observers said that the republics’ proposals correlate with the plan to settle the situation in east Ukraine, unveiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ulan Bator on Sept. 3.
