Yahoo – AFP,
15 Aug 2014
Washington
(AFP) - US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called his Russian opposite number
Sergei Shoigu on Friday and was promised that no Russian troops are assigned to
a "humanitarian convoy" headed to Ukraine.
"Minister
Shoigu 'guaranteed' that there were no Russian military personnel involved in
the humanitarian convoy, nor was the convoy to be used as a pretext to further
intervene in Ukraine," the Pentagon said.
Moscow has
a convoy of white-painted trucks carrying what it says is humanitarian aid to
the beleaguered civilian population in eastern Ukraine, where government troops
are fighting pro-Russian rebels.
But the
vehicles closely resemble models used by the Russian army and there have been
allegations that the drivers, seen in photographs as identically dressed in
khaki "uniforms," are soldiers.
Kiev fears
that the delivery could be an attempt to either smuggle more supplies to the
separatist rebels or provoke an armed incident that would in turn be used to
justify stronger Russian intervention.
But the
Pentagon statement said Shoigu had insisted to Hagel that the convoy was not a
disguised military column and vowed that the aid it carries would be properly
distributed by a neutral third party.
"Minister
Shoigu assured Secretary Hagel that Russia was meeting Ukraine's
conditions," it said.
"He
acknowledged that the goods would be delivered and distributed under the
International Committee of the Red Cross," it added.
"The
two ministers discussed the need to have bilateral follow-on meetings of the
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. They also agreed to maintain
open lines of communication."
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