Sending peacekeepers to Ukraine but a “theoretical” possibility, Lithuanian foreign minister says

“When there are hot spots and when the situation is more stable, this can be considered theoretically. I would imagine, if forces are pulled back from the confrontation line, (peace-keeping) forces may be deployed theoretically in the gap,” Linkevičius told BNS on Thursday.

“We will have to wait and see how it looks in practice. As far as I understood, the Russian reaction was negative. Knowing the Russian role in the United Nations, any decision is unlikely, if the reaction is negative,” the foreign minister added.

On Wednesday evening, Ukraine‘s National Security and Defense Council approved an address to the United Nations and the European Union (EU), asking to dispatch a contingent of peace-keepers to the conflict-ridden eastern Ukraine.

“It was decided to address the UN and the EU on the matter of the peacekeeping mission in Ukraine. The Foreign Ministry will file a request,” the council’s secretary Oleksandr Turchynov told journalists after the meeting.

In his words, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry will file a request, and the country’s parliament will support it.

Turchynov said the peace-keepers should be stationed along the line of contact, as well as along the uncontrolled part of the Russian-Ukrainian border.

Russia’s Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Vitaly Churkin stated on Thursday that the Ukrainian administration’s call to send peace-keepers to eastern Ukraine is an attempt to derail the Minsk agreements.