Kiev fears a Russian response to the introduction of an armed OSCE mission into Donbass without Moscow's sanction
On Sunday, the foreign ministers of Germany and France discussed Ukrainian issues for the first time with their Polish counterpart Witold Waszczykowski, Nezavisimaya Gazeta reports.
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“Poland is not a member of the Normandy Format negotiations on a settlement in Donbass, so its inclusion in the mediators’ conversation may promise surprises as early as early September,” the publication notes.
At the same time, Ukrainian political scientist Vitaly Kulik told the publication that the war in Donbass will not stop until a well-armed international OSCE mission enters the region.
“Neither disengagement of the parties nor a complete ceasefire is possible. I am here and see with my own eyes what is happening. There will be no peace until armed (not with small arms for personal protection), well-trained police officers enter the region under the auspices of the OSCE,” the expert said.
True, in Kyiv they fear that the introduction of an armed OSCE mission into Donbass, bypassing Russia’s veto, could lead to Russian troops entering the region.
“Let’s say the decision to send peacekeepers is made (I think Steinmeier, Eyrault and Waszczykowski discussed the situation in Donbass from the point of view of assessing the means and forces required to organize such a mission). Then the leaders of the DPR and LPR, as they previously promised, will announce intervention and ask for military assistance from the Russian Federation. Moscow may decide to send its “peacekeepers” to the region. Then there will be a full-scale war,” said an unnamed NG interlocutor in Kyiv.