Ukrainian border guards, OSCE SMM check aid convoy - LPR
LUHANSK. Aug 20 (Interfax) - Representatives of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) and Ukrainian border guards and customs officers have inspected the border vehicles of the 36th Russian humanitarian convoy delivered to Donbas, the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) said.
"I can say that there was almost no delay. The inspection was carried out for 15-20 minutes and the aid convoy entered the LPR territory in an organized way. The inspection was conducted as scheduled, no questions arose," chief of the center for the management of LPR restoration Alexander Drobot told reporters in Luhansk.
Meanwhile, a senior supervisor of the relief convoy Maxim Kazakov said that "everything was done in the presence of officers of the customs and border services of Ukraine and involving the OSCE mission."
Since August 2014, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations has delivered more than 43,000 tonnes of relief supplies to Donbas.
Kyiv has earlier voiced numerous protests against Russian humanitarian convoys sent to Donbas without Ukraine's permission. Ukrainian authorities said that the delivery of relief convoys without an agreement with Kyiv violated Ukrainian laws and long-standing international practice.
Kyiv has also always denied the participation of Ukrainian customs officers and border guards in the processing of humanitarian cargoes from Russia.