Kiev's Stance on Police Mission Proves Desire to Use Force in Donbass

Russia's Permanent Representative at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Alexander Lukashevich said that the fact that Ukraine's representatives keep discussing the issue of police mission in Donbass show that they are aiming to use force for the conflict settlement.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Ukrainian position in regard to the deployment of a police mission in the country's crisis-torn region of Donbass proves that Kiev expects to solve the conflict by force, Russia's Permanent Representative at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Alexander Lukashevich told Sputnik in an interview.

During the Ukrainian conflict, official Kiev has repeatedly called for creation of a police mission aimed at monitoring the situation in Donbass. Despite the fact that Ukrainian officials, including President Petro Poroshenko, that there has already been reached an agreement to establish such a mission, representatives of Germany and Russia have refuted the claims about the accord.

"The fact that Ukraine's representatives keep discussing the issue [of police mission] on the international platforms, show that they are aiming to use force for the conflict settlement, rather than to search for stable political solutions that had been endorsed by Kiev's authorities themselves," Lukashevich said.

He added that such method would undermine stability in the region.

In April 2014, Kiev authorities launched a military operation against pro-independence militia in Donbass. In February 2015, the two sides reached a ceasefire deal after talks brokered by the leaders of Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine — the so-called Normandy Format — in the Belarusian capital of Minsk.

The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission has been tasked with monitoring the implementation of Minsk deal provisions to settle the conflict.