Russian aid convoy 'will not be admitted into Ukraine'
Source: The Guardian
A Ukrainian security spokesman has said that a humanitarian convoy being dispatched to eastern Ukraine by Russia will not be admitted into the country.
Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, said the convoy had not been certified by the International Committee of the Red Cross. A convoy of 280 Russian trucks headed for Ukraine early on Tuesday, one day after agreement was reached on an international humanitarian relief mission.
But the Red Cross, which was due to coordinate the operation, said it had no information on what the trucks were carrying or where they were going. That has raised fears in Ukraine and the west, where leaders have voiced concerns that Russia could use the initiative as a pretext for sending troops into separatist-held territory.
An aide to the Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko, said Kiev would require the aid to be reloaded onto other transport vehicles at the border by the Red Cross if it was to enter. "We will not allow any escort by the emergencies ministry of Russia or by the military. Everything will be under the control of the Ukrainian side," the aide, Valery Chaly, said.
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/12/russian-aid-convoy-ukraine-red-cross
PeoViejo
(2,178 posts)The more the better.
KinMd
(966 posts)TwilightGardener
(46,416 posts)The truck drivers might look suspiciously like well-trained special forces, but pay no heed to that!
Demeter
(85,373 posts)as if Ukraine hasn't already several times bitten the hand that fed it, in the mistaken belief that they would be handed the keys to the Eurozone...
There's always time for regret.
ballyhoo
(2,060 posts)IronGate
(2,186 posts)Can you see what's inside the cargo areas?
Ukraine is right to not trust the Russians.
If it's a legitimate aid convey, then I'm sure Russia will have no problem with loading the contents of those trucks onto Ukrainian or Red Cross trucks at the border, right?
Cali_Democrat
(30,439 posts)Apparently ballyhoo has x-ray vision....
ladjf
(17,320 posts)should have turned the material over to the Red Cross or some other non-partial organization for distribution.
Who in their right mind would trust Putin about anything?
IronGate
(2,186 posts)dipsydoodle
(42,239 posts)Last edited Tue Aug 12, 2014, 06:59 PM - Edit history (1)
ICRC must vet, distribute Russian aid, EU says.
(Reuters) - Russian aid to eastern Ukraine must be vetted and distributed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to make sure it is not used for political ends, the European Union's humanitarian aid chief said on Tuesday.
A Russian convoy carrying food, water and other aid set off on Tuesday for eastern Ukraine, but Kiev said it would not allow the vehicles to cross onto its territory.
Western governments have warned Moscow against any attempt to turn the operation into a military intervention by stealth.
"What we expect to see is full respect for international humanitarian law and for the principles of neutrality, impartiality, independence of the delivery of humanitarian aid," EU humanitarian aid commissioner Kristalina Georgieva told Reuters in an interview.
The ICRC, an independent aid agency, must assess what the Russian humanitarian aid consisted of and the ICRC must also distribute the aid to ensure it is handed out according to need, rather than the political leanings of the recipients, she said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/12/us-ukraine-crisis-eu-idUSKBN0GC10R20140812
kelliekat44
(7,759 posts)Tarheel_Dem
(31,211 posts)NickB79
(19,114 posts)Asking that it gets certified by the ICRC before crossing the border is nothing.
If they have nothing to hide, they have nothing to worry about, right?
reorg
(3,317 posts)The arrangements for the humanitarian aid convoy have been completely agreed upon, with all of Kievs wishes taken into account, including the route, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters at a press conference in Sochi.
We have agreed on a route convenient for the Kiev authorities. We agreed that our trucks would have Ukrainian number plates during their way through Ukrainian territory. We also agreed to take on board not only the representatives of the Red Cross and the OSCE, but also representatives of the Ukrainian authorities, Lavrov said. ...
Earlier Tuesday, the Ukrainian government in Kiev announced that it would hold up the humanitarian convoy for at least a week, in order to give time for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to establish where the aid should go.
However, Russias Emergencies Ministry said that the destination for the Russian humanitarian aid will be determined jointly by Moscows representatives, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Ukrainian government.
http://rt.com/news/179820-lavrov-convoy-ukraine-agree/
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-to-send-humanitarian-convoy-to-ukraine-despite-objections-from-kiev-9662522.html
Bosonic
(3,746 posts)(Reuters) - Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk denounced on Wednesday the dispatch of a Russian humanitarian aid convoy to Ukraine as an act of Russian "cynicism" and the country's interior minister said it would not be allowed in.
Yatseniuk, speaking to a government meeting, said: "The level of Russian cynicism knows no bounds. First they send tanks, Grad missiles and bandits who fire on Ukrainians and then they send water and salt."
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on his Facebook page: "No Putin 'humanitarian convoy' will be allowed across the territory of Kharkiv region. The provocation by a cynical aggressor will not be allowed."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/13/us-ukraine-crisis-convoy-idUSKBN0GD0PA20140813