World Must Keep Situation in Donbass under Public Spotlight – Kurt Volker

World Must Keep Situation in Donbass under Public Spotlight – Kurt Volker
15 September 2018

The USA and the rest of Europe shall not lose focus on the situation in Donbass, - the U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations, Kurt Volker, has said.

“We shall not fall asleep and forget about this. All of our societies and governmental bodies have to direct the spotlight at this humanitarian disaster, as it is just a few hours to fly from Berlin or Munich”, Volker said. Volker was addressing the 15th Yalta European Strategy (YES) Annual Meeting themed “The Next Generation of Everything” and organized by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation.

Kurt Volker noted that so far there was no progress in setting the conflict.

“We have stuck up for the Minsk process. Those steps Ukraine has to make (special status, local elections) – they are not possible unless there are security guarantees. This is why we offered a peacekeeping contingent, which will replace the Russian forces and will make it truly safe. This offer is on the desk, Russia should take it more seriously”, - Volker said.

The U.S. Department of State’s Special Envoy to Ukraine closed noting that efforts have to be continued via sanctions against Russia and through delivering the message to the Russian people the details of the real cost of aggression.

The official Twitter handle of the 15th YES Annual Meeting is @yes_ukraine, and participants and followers can include the hash tag: #YESUkraine2018

Partners of 15th YES Annual Meeting:
Arawak Energy, Hillmont Partners, lifecell, International Renaissance Foundation, Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF).

Media partners of 15th YES Annual Meeting:
Dzerkalo Tyzhnya (DT.UA), European Pravda, ICTV, Liga.net, Novoye Vremya Strany (NV), PRYAMIY Channel, Radio NV, The Kyiv Post.

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Christopher Pincher
Christopher Pincher
Minister of State for Europe, United Kingdom, 16th YES Annual Meeting, 2019
«Russia’s attempt to play the strongman and imprison Ukraine in its supposed ‘sphere of influence’ harks back to a very unhappy and dark age that we all thought had been consigned to the history books.»