Ukrainian government official: OSCE doesn't have the resources for an armed mission in the Donbas
The issue of deploying a special armed mission to the Donbas may be passed on to the UN from the OSCE due to a lack of financial resources. 112.ua reported that this was stated by the Deputy Minister for the temporarily occupied territories and internally displaced persons of Ukraine, George Tuka.
He believes that the budget proposals of the Western partners for arming of the observational OSCE mission, and for increasing its staff to between 500 and 1,000 people, are not enough.
“It is necessary to speak openly and say that it is only a drop in the ocean, not a solution to the problem. The restoration of order in Bosnia required a staff of 60,000 people. To be honest, I expect that this matter will ultimately be handed over from the OSCE to the UN”, Tuka said.
He noted that the OSCE may have financial problems when working in Ukraine.
“This is a very big financial burden. If I’m not mistaken, the OSCE’s current budget is €170 million, of which €100 million is allocated to support Ukraine. It is unlikely that this money will be found. There is a chance that some of this money may be received from UN donors. I do not rule this option out”, Tuka said.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s negotiations with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Russian President Vladimir Putin were held on the 19th of October in Berlin.
At a press conference after the talks, Poroshenko said that the leaders of the Normandy format countries had approved the German and French proposals for the main criteria of a “road map” to implement the Minsk Agreements.
According to the Ukrainian President, Petro Poroshenko, Russia supported the deployment of an armed OSCE mission in the Donbas.