Russia refused to give the border with Ukraine under US control
Moscow - Kyiv, September 17 (PolitNavigator, Mikhail Stamm) - As one of the conditions for the partial lifting of sanctions against Russia, the United States demands the creation of a “buffer zone” on the Russian-Ukrainian border. A high-ranking source in the US administration told Kommersant about this, emphasizing that Washington considers this point “particularly important.” The Kremlin told the newspaper that Moscow “will not accept any conditions.”
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“We expect Russia to withdraw all military personnel and equipment from the territory of Ukraine. Moscow must stop supporting armed groups and mercenaries in Ukraine; it must release all hostages, most notably pilot Nadezhda Savchenko and director Oleg Sentsov. We also demand the establishment of control on the Russian-Ukrainian border and the restoration of Ukrainian sovereignty over its border, with constant monitoring by the OSCE. Finally, we insist on the creation of a security buffer zone on both sides of the border,” said a source in Washington.
A source in the US administration explained to Kommersant that the requirement to create a buffer zone is “particularly important” for Washington. “In the past months, we have witnessed shelling of Ukrainian territory from the Russian Federation, and therefore we need a buffer zone on both sides of the border in order to prevent such shelling,” Kommersant’s interlocutor said.
Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov, however, told the publication that the Kremlin is “not aware of these demands.” According to him, until the White House makes an official statement, the Russian authorities will not comment on this topic. At the same time, Mr. Peskov added: “We will not accept any conditions.” “We do not impose conditions on anyone and do not want them to be imposed on us,” he said. “Russia is doing everything possible to facilitate the process of peaceful settlement in Ukraine. And we regret that many of our foreign partners do not do the same; on the contrary, they are taking steps leading to destabilization.”
Kommersant’s source in the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that Moscow does not plan to negotiate with Washington on the conditions for easing the “illegal” restrictions imposed against Russia.
The head of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, Mikhail Margelov, also told the publication that Russia “does not intend to discuss the conditions for lifting American sanctions.” “We consider these sanctions – imposed not through the UN, but by a unilateral decision – illegitimate and contrary to international law,” the senator explained. “There is nothing to discuss here.”
The clause on the creation of a “ten-kilometer buffer zone between the Russian Federation and Ukraine” was part of President Petro Poroshenko’s peace plan announced on June 20. “The creation of a buffer zone would make it easier for Ukrainian troops to carry out their task within the framework of the anti-terrorist operation,” explained Kiev expert Igor Levchenko. “Kiev’s plan was to push the forces of the self-proclaimed republics of Lugansk and Donetsk away from the Ukrainian-Russian border, thereby depriving them of fire support and locked in the boiler.”
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