MOSCOW – US Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker said he expected to meet with Russian presidential aide Vladislav Surkov in Jan.2018.
Speaking on the Echo of Moscow radio station on Dec.29, Volker said the meeting had not yet been scheduled, the parties were discussing the date acceptable to both of them, and that he expected it to take place in January. He said he hoped some progress would be made at this meeting.
Volker said he still had hopes with regard to Ukraine and would like to see peace in Ukraine in the coming year, which would require Russia to withdraw troops and weapons and stop providing any support to Donbas.
Volker acknowledged that this requires security guarantees, time, and a safe space to implement the Minsk Agreements, including the organization of an election campaign and local elections; the Verkhovna Rada should start an amnesty process, and the special status of the regions, for which the Rada has already voted, should be ensured following the elections, he said.
Volker reiterated that he hoped that this could be done and that Russia wished to see all these issues resolved and to see the Donbas territories remain part of Ukraine.
In this sense, the meeting with Surkov in November was disappointing as the parties did not make progress on the matter, Volker said.
In commenting on Russia’s draft resolution on a United Nations mission in Donbas, Volker suggested that, in case of this scenario, UN forces would not be able to establish peace, ensure security guarantees and safe elections, and establish control over the border with Russia, and so free movement of weapons and troops across the Ukrainian-Russian border would continue.
In other words, the UN mission would be able to protect OSCE monitors but would be unable to become an efficient force that can change anything in the region, he added.
Therefore, Germany, France, and the United States have formulated ideas as to how the UN Security Council resolution can be reviewed and what should be done to make it efficient and to promote peace, he said.
This includes, in particular, responsibility for control of security in the region, the monitoring of movements and stationing of heavy weapons, and control of the Ukrainian part of its border with Russia, Volker said.
He made it clear the matter did not presume the closure of the border but insisted that it should be under control.
