DPR flatly opposes idea of bringing foreign police contingent to Donbas
MOSCOW. Aug 1 (Interfax) - Andrei Purgin, first deputy prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, said Ukraine is preparing to ring a foreign police contingent to the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic.
"We have information that Kyiv is preparing to ring Dutch and Australian police to the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic, and it will be equipped and armed people, not civil police like they said before," Purgin told Interfax on Friday.
"We are talking about thousands of police officers," he said.
"According to our information, Kyiv is preparing to give its consent to the presence on the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic of some 700 Dutch and 1,500 Australian police officers. Of course, it's an outrageous situation and it doesn't help resolve the situation. Essentially, it's military intervention," Purgin said.
On July 25, Ukraine and Australia signed an agreement on the sending of Australian personnel to eastern Ukraine in connection with the Malaysian plane crash. On July 28, Ukraine and the Netherlands signed an agreement on an international mission for protecting the investigation into the crash.
On July 31, the Ukrainian parliament ratified Ukraine's agreements with Australia and the Netherlands on providing access to an international police mission to the crash site and protection of the investigation into the crash.
According to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, the agreement will help involve Australian and Dutch authorities in the investigation and will help protect the crash site to ensure the return of the crash victims' bodies.
The Australian personnel are not part of the Australian armed forces and its main function will be to protect the crash site. The agreement states that the Australian personnel will comprise no more than 250 armed people and the Australian personnel are allowed to have and carry weapons and use force within the limits needed for achieving the goals [of the investigation], including the sue of force to kill for self-defense purposes.
The Australian personnel will be free to travel to places associated with the investigation, the document says. At the same time, they will request the approval of the Ukrainian authorities to travel to places not associated with the investigation into the plane crash and will coordinate their travel through military action areas with the Ukrainian authorities. The Australian personnel will coordinate their activities with a special OSCE monitoring mission, the document says.
Participants in the investigation mission will enjoy unimpeded entry in Ukraine and will be able to travel on its territory on their passports without visas.
The costs associated with the mission's stay in Ukraine will be borne by Australia. The agreement takes effect on the day Australia receives a diplomatic note on the fulfillment by Ukraine of the intrastate procedures needed for the document to take effect.
The text of the agreement with the Netherlands states that a multi-function mission protecting the investigation, which is led by the Netherlands, is created to help collect the debris and investigate the plane crash, and also to conduct other types of activities that may be approved by the parties.
The agreement provides that the mission will comprise no more than 700 armed people and will be composed of military and non-military personnel of the Netherlands, Australia, and, in appropriate cases, of other countries whose citizens were aboard the plane.
The personnel of the mission are allowed to have and carry weapons and use force for self-defense and to conduct their activities as per the agreement.
The work of the mission on the territory of Ukraine is to be completed when the crash investigation is completed.
The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17, killing all 298 people aboard. Most of the passengers were citizens of the Netherlands and Australia.
