Ukraine Ready to Send Peacekeepers to S.Ossetia under International Aegis

Ukraine is ready to send troops to the South Ossetian conflict zone if the UN or OSCE leads a peacekeeping operation there, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry announced on February 17.

“Ukraine is ready to consider participation in an international peacekeeping mission in South Ossetia exclusively under a UN or OSCE mandate and if a relevant decision [is made by] the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine [the Parliament],” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The statement also reiterates Ukraine’s support for Georgia’s territorial integrity and resolution of the conflicts through peaceful means.

Georgian Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili said on February 18 that Ukraine’s statement “was not a surprise” for Tbilisi, as Ukraine is “Georgia’s partner.”

“At the moment, our goal is to create a relevant mandate [for a peacekeeping operation] and to define under which aegis – UN or OSCE – it will operate,” Bezhuashvili told reporters.