MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th June, 2019) Switzerland has delivered more than 12,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid to the crisis-torn Donbas region since April 2015, First Deputy Chief of the Russian Government Staff Sergei Prikhodko said on Sunday.
"Since April 2015, more than 12,000 tonnes of various cargoes have been delivered there [to Donbas] by ten [Swiss] convoys. Among them are chemicals for water purification by region's specialized enterprises allowing to ensure uninterrupted water supply to more than four million people living on both sides of the demarcation line," Prikhodko told reporters ahead of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's upcoming visit to Geneva.
Prikhodko added that Russia welcomed Switzerland's contribution to negotiations on the Ukrainian settlement, noting efforts by Heidi Tagliavini, who served as the special representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in 2014-2015, and Toni Frisch, the OSCE coordinator of the Trilateral Contact Group's humanitarian subgroup.
Prikhodko stressed that Switzerland "acted wisely and pragmatic" when it did not introduce its own restrictions in relations with Russia following western countries.
Medvedev is expected to take part in the 108th session of the International Labor Conference marking the 100th anniversary of the International Labor Organization on June 11, where he will address a plenary session on the future of the labor sphere.
The armed conflict in the east of Ukraine began in 2014, after the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics refused to recognize the new government, saying that it had come to power through a coup.
In 2015, the warring parties signed a ceasefire deal in Minsk, following talks, brokered by the leaders of the so-called Normandy group, uniting Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine. Despite this agreement, sporadic fighting has continued in Donbas. To date, the situation remains tense, with both sides accusing each other of violating the ceasefire.
