US representative for Ukraine Volker expresses doubt Russia will withdraw its troops from Donbas any time soon
Russia has not decided yet on the withdrawal of its troops from the separatist-held territory of Ukraine, and it is unlikely that this will happen in the near future. This opinion was expressed at a press conference following the meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Vienna, by the US Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker, Hromadske reports.
"I do not believe that Russia has already decided to withdraw troops from the East of Ukraine. We hope that Russia will eventually make this decision, but it has not been reached yet," Volker said.
At the same time, he stressed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "the only one in Russia who can make such a decision". Volker called Putin’s aide, Vladislav Surkov, "a very smart, skillful and important interlocutor."
In Vienna, Volker also said that deployment of a peacekeeping mission in the Donbas is impossible without the consent of the Russian Federation.