CSTO May Send Peacekeepers to Donbas, Stanislav Zas Says

Deploying CSTO peacekeepers in the conflict zone of Donbas could be possible with the sanctions of the UN Security Council and the agreement of Kyiv. This was stated by the Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Stanislav Zas, in an interview with Reuters.

"Theoretically, this is possible, but it requires Ukraine's consent. After all, this is its territory, backed by the UN Security Council mandate, and it is also necessary for this decision to be supported by all our governments," he said in response to a related question.

Zas added that the internal Ukrainian conflict can only be resolved diplomatically, but the situation is currently developing in a dangerous direction. "I do not believe that the situation can return to a state where tanks remain in their bases and soldiers are in barracks. Now we must recognize the need to sit at the negotiating table and reach an agreement. This is the new reality," stated Zas.

On Friday, the leaders of the Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics, Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin, announced the evacuation of residents to Russian territory, particularly to the Rostov region, due to the growing threat of combat operations. Later, several other regions of Russia also expressed readiness to accept and accommodate people from Donbas.