Kiev: NATO's assistance has no direct influence on the situation in the Donbas Friday, June 24, 2016 5:41:12 PM

The help that Kiev receives from NATO is not related to the situation in the Donbas, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine, citing the Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense, Igor Dolgov.

"NATO is not a party to the Minsk Agreements. To date, the alliance is just a partner organization to Ukraine. Moreover, we are a special strategic partner to NATO. That is why the help from the alliance is not directly related to the fighting in eastern Ukraine. It has no direct impact on the situation in the ATO zone [conflict zone]," he said.

Dolgov also emphasized: "The issue of the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine and the question of political control over the situation are both within the sphere of the Normandy policies."

The Deputy Minister noted that today, the extent of Ukraine’s cooperation with NATO and its member countries is the transfer of experience and knowledge, providing assistance, including materials, instruction and training of our units according to NATO standards. "We will develop it," said Dolgov.

He specifically mentioned the alliance’s assistance in clearing mines in the Donbas.

The armed confrontation between Ukrainian security forces and separatists of the self-proclaimed republics of the Donbas has been ongoing since April 2014. Russia has repeatedly stated that it is not a party to the conflict.

According to the latest UN statistics, 9,371 people have been killed and 21,523 people injured since the beginning of the fighting in eastern Ukraine.

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