Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov held a meeting with Charge d'Affaires, a.i of the United States Mission to the OSCE Harry Kamian

Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov held a meeting with Charge d'Affaires, a.i of the United States Mission to the OSCE Harry Kamian.

During the meeting, the situation in the east of Ukraine and the Crimea in the conditions of military aggression by the Russian Federation and the issue of a possible UN peacekeeping mission in Donbas were discussed.

According to Mr. Turchynov, it is crucial for Ukraine that during the international negotiations on the liberation of Donbas, the issue of liberating the occupied Crimea does not lose relevance.

Moreover, Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine stressed that a peacekeeping mission under the UN aegis should have the mandate to stay throughout the whole territory of Donbas and, above all, on the Ukrainian-Russian border, "which would allow blocking the transfer of weapons, military equipment, and Russian troops to Donbas".

"All the "peacekeeping" proposals of the Russian Federation are aimed only at attempts to legalize their presence in Donbas", - Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine said adding that the primary task is not to allow Russia to disguise aggressive actions under the peacekeeping activities.

Mr. Turchynov also emphasized that for Ukraine, one of the priorities is to carry out reforms in accordance with NATO standards, in particular to achieve the interoperability of the forces and means of subjects of Ukraine's security and defense sector with the forces and means of the relevant structures of the NATO member states, which will ensure the future membership in the North Atlantic Alliance and protection of state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine through participation in the international system of collective defense. "The issue of Euro-Atlantic integration is vital for us", - Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine stressed.

In his turn, Charge d'Affaires, a.i of the United States Mission to the OSCE Harry Kamian emphasized that the United States fully shares Ukraine's position regarding the peacekeeping mission in Donbas, supports the territorial integrity of our state and is ready to further make every effort to resolve the conflict by diplomatic means. "Mitigation of sanctions is out of the question till Russia completely fulfills the Minsk agreements", - he noticed stressing that the issue of Crimea remains on the agenda of international diplomacy.