Donetsk, Sep 26 - DAN. Donetsk appreciates Minsk’s contribution to the Donbass peace settlement, but does not need the assistance of Belarussian armed forces, Donetsk People’s Republic Head Denis Pushilin said on Thursday.
“The Donetsk People’s Republic does not need peacekeeping forces from Belarus to secure order in the DPR territory and on its borders,” Pushilin said. “The Republic’s law-enforcement bodies cope with this task on their own and quite effectivelly.
“Minsk is the Contact Group negotiations venue. It is a very valuable and more than adequate contribution by Belarus to the Minsk process. Therefore, while expressing gratitude, we decline the Belarussian leadership’s proposal to deploy their contingent on our borders,” he said.
Earlier on Thursday, Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko stated Minsk’s readiness to take part in the Donbass conflict settlement by sending peacekeepers to the region. In an interview with Ukrainian mainstream media he said that Minsk was ready “to send peacekeepers, borderguards or troops there if the two sides agree.” *ot