The UN-mandated multinational peacekeeping operation in Donbass could be a decisive factor in ending sufferings of Ukrainians. Petro Poroshenko said this during his speech in the framework of participation in the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly, - UNIAN reports.
"Obviously, the world has not become a safer place in the 21st century. We still witness wars and aggression, even on the European continent. As we speak, foreign military aggression against Ukraine, in violation of the UN Charter and contrary to the resolutions adopted by the General Assembly and Security Council, is raging on", - Poroshenko noted.
The President of Ukraine stressed: "The temporary occupation of parts of Ukraine's territory continues to cause suffering of the Ukrainian people and undermine regional and international peace and security".
He noted that according to the most conservative estimates by the UN, the number of conflict-related casualties in Ukraine currently stands at over 35 000, including more than 10 000 people killed and almost 25 000 injured. The number of internally displaced persons is over 1.5 million people.
"It could look like yet another dry statistics, which this Organization is full of, but for me and Ukrainians these are scars on the very heart", - the President said.
"I am confident that the UN-mandated multinational peacekeeping operation with the only clear goal to restore Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity could be a decisive factor in ending sufferings of the Ukrainian people. We believe there is no better way but dispatching such an operation, under the robust UN mandate", - the President of Ukraine emphasized.
He added that it would greatly assist in making Russia fulfil the Minsk agreements in good faith. "I am grateful to Germany, France, and the USA for mobilizing international support of this initiative", - thee President noted.
At the same time, the head of the Ukrainian state stressed that Russia is against the peacekeepers. "One reason for that is that the Kremlin is afraid. It is afraid that the peacekeepers will see Russian troops and military hardware all over the occupied territory. They are also afraid of losing control over the Ukraine-Russia border used by the Kremlin to keep infiltrating its military into Donbass", - Petro Poroshenko said.
"Is it not for the UN to stand up to the challenge with courage?", - the President noted and recalled that Ukraine's request to deploy the UN peacekeepers in Russian-occupied Donbass had not been addressed yet.
"We see it as a test for the ability of our Organization to act in a challenging conflict situation. A test, which still remains to be taken", - Petro Poroshenko summed up.
As previously reported, U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker stated the need to create provisional administration in the Donbass to ensure the implementation of the Minsk agreements in the event of introduction of the UN peacekeeping mission to the east of Ukraine.