Border control handover to Kyiv possible by end of 2015 - Russian Foreign Ministry
MOSCOW. Feb 13 (Interfax) - The question of handing control over certain parts of the Russian-Ukrainian border over to Kyiv could be considered towards the end of 2015, i.e. after the measures set out in the February 12 Minsk agreement have been implemented, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told Interfax.
"If they are implemented, if the political settlement does take place, then this (handover of the border control to Kyiv) could be considered by the end of 2015," he said.
He was commenting on a claim by the head of the EU delegation to Russia, Vygaudas Usackas, who stressed the need to hand over border control to Ukraine.
Karasin suggested that "Ambassador Usackas and other foreign diplomats read the February 12 Minsk document more carefully which clearly sets out the border control handover procedure."
The procedure is tied, in particular, to local elections in certain parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and to the political settlement, the Russian diplomat said.
"This requires a whole series of serious measures," Karasin said.
It was reported that Usackas told the Ekho Moskvy radio station earlier on Friday that the EU will only review its approach towards its relationship with Russia in the context of the Ukrainian crisis, in particular, on the question of sanctions, if Moscow fully complies with the agreements reached in Minsk on February 12.
