Kyiv: Russia demands lifting of sanctions as condition for ceasefire in Donbas
At a meeting of the UN Security Council on the protection of civilians in armed conflicts, the Russian Federation stated that without the lifting of sanctions there would be no global ceasefire, said the speaker of the Ukrainian mission to the United Nations Oleg Nikolenko, commenting on the statement of the Russian delegation.
"In this regard, we consider the Secretary-General's call for a global ceasefire of 23 March 2020 to be very relevant. But his call will be incomplete outside of his previous appeal: lifting sanctions that could undermine countries' ability to respond to the pandemic. The same appeal was made by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, who stressed that in the context of the global pandemic, the policy of impeding medical efforts in one country increases the risk to all of us," the Russian Federation said at the UN Security Council.
"Previously, we have heard only that sanctions interfere with humanitarian efforts to combat COVID-19. It didn't help, so Russia decided to return to the old practices - blackmail," Nikolenko said.
In his opinion, the statement of the Russian Federation explains why the violence continues in Ukraine, Syria, Libya and other places where Russia is a party to the conflict. "But we are well aware that even if the sanctions are theoretically lifted, there will be no ceasefire. The Russians will always find a reason to continue their aggressive policy," the speaker of Ukraine's missions to the UN added.