US and Russian envoys to discuss UN peacekeepers for Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin looks a

A top Kremlin official will “synchronise watches” with the US envoy to the Ukrainian conflict today, says a Russian government spokesperson.

Since Kurt Volker and Vladislav Surkov first compared timepieces, Vladimir Putin has proposed deploying UN peacekeepers to Ukraine’s restive Donbass region. Details of the proposal are sketchy. Putin first said blue-helmets should be deployed only along the line of engagement, but later implied they might accompany observers into separatist-held territory.

Ukraine’s president is sceptical. He thinks Moscow might be trying to “preserve” another conflict along its borders. Instead, Kiev wants any peacekeeping mission to patrol the border with Russia, over which weapons flow to separatists.

While some have called Mr Putin’s proposal “strange”, he proposed the UN mission just weeks after US officials recommended Donald Trump provide Ukraine with defensive weapons—suggesting there’s nothing wrong with his timekeeping.

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Simon Papagiorcopulo

Simon is the founder of Foreign Brief who served as managing director from 2015 to 2021. A lawyer by training, Simon has worked as an analyst and adviser in the private sector and government. Simon’s desire to help clients understand global developments in a contextualised way underpinned the establishment of Foreign Brief. This aspiration remains the organisation’s driving principle.

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