Ukraine is preparing the issue of immediate release of Ukrainian prisoners of war by the Russian Federation and the implementation of the plan for the introduction of peacekeepers in the Donbass for the next summit in the Normandy format.
This was announced by the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko on radio NV, the press service of the Head of state informs.
"When I am re-elected, in the first week, there should be a meeting of the Normandy format summit. Several issues will be raised at the Normandy summit. The first issue to be resolved immediately is that Russia has no reason to delay the detention of our prisoners of war any longer. The Russian Federation will bear the legal responsibility for that," the Head of state said.
Poroshenko emphasizes that the Russian court has no jurisdiction to issue verdicts to Ukrainian citizens, and the seizure of ships on November 25, 2018 has already received the status of an act of aggression against Ukraine.
"The act of attack is qualified by international lawyers as an act of military aggression against warships of a sovereign and independent state," he added.
According to him, the release of Ukrainians from Russian prisons is unlikely to happen before the presidential elections in Ukraine.
Poroshenko also recalled the plan to introduce a peacekeeping mission to Donbass and spoke about the mechanism of its implementation.
"We must immediately move to the implementation of the security component of the Minsk agreements. The security component is the introduction of the issue of "blue helmets" to the UN security Council meeting," he added.
Tasks that UN peacekeepers in Ukraine will need to comply with, are as follows: the withdrawal of foreign troops from the territory of the country, the disarmament of illegal armed groups, the withdrawal of heavy weapons and equipment. After the implementation of these tasks, we will focus on the political component. International partners agreed that the peacekeeping mission should be given the right to use force against militants.
"The most important component is taking control of the uncontrolled part of the Russian-Ukrainian border in order to prevent infiltration through the uncontrolled part of the border of forces that will destroy the security component," Poroshenko said.
He also spoke about the creation of a platform for de-occupation of Crimea on the basis of the UN General Assembly resolution.
"The components of this platform, ranging from coordinated legal action, bringing the aggressor country to justice for illegal annexation in the courts to protect investments, the violation of the rights and freedoms of citizens, the violation of the Convention on freedom of navigation in the Kerch Strait. To date, we have 11 cases that are clearly coordinated and on which Russia should respond," he said.
The President emphasized that now, according to Bloomberg, Russia is losing 10% of its GDP ($150 billion) due to the sanctions.
"Putin, when he was waiting for the elections, very much hoped that a weak presidential candidate, an inexperienced Supreme commander, would come, so that Russia could use it to get out of the trap where the Russians drove themselves... the price that Russia is now paying - every month a billion dollars. It's pointless."
Poroshenko also spoke about the consequences of blocking the UN Security Council resolution on peacekeepers in the Donbass on the part of Russia.
"Sanctions will be strengthened. And sanctions will be in very sensitive area. For example, financial. For example, the arrest of assets of Putin's inner circle. For example, the ban on the transfer of technologies that form the Russian economy... And we approach the issue professionally, then every month, every quarter the price of the Russian occupation of Ukraine should increase," the President said.