Volker: Peace begins in Donbas when Russian forces leave it

By Interfax-Ukraine.

Published June 15, 2019 at 2:34 pm

Rescue workers clear debris in the ruins of a house which came under an artillery attack in the village of Maryinka on June 14, 2019. A nine-year-old girl and three of her family members were injured on June 14 after their house in the village of Maryinka, some 20 kilometres (12 miles) southwest of the Russia-backed separatists' de facto capital Donetsk, came under an artillery attack, the defence ministry said.

Photo by AFP

U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker has said that the example of Mariupol could become a lesson for Donbas: peace begins when Russian forces leave.

“Five years ago this week, Ukrainian defenders liberated Mariupol which has been peaceful (except for when Russian forces shelled it killing dozens) ever since. The lesson for Donbas is that when Russian forces leave, peace begins,” he wrote on his Twitter account.