US told about humanitarian aid delivery in Ukraine

Moscow, Aug 11 (IANS/ITAR -TASS) Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has informed US Secretary of State, John Kerry, about the delivery of humanitarian aid to the country's eastern regions.

In a telephonic conversation, Poroshenko notified Kerry of "the invitation of representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to coordinate all matters aimed at arranging for humanitarian aid", the presidential press said Sunday.

According to reports, Kerry welcomed the Ukrainian president's initiative about an international humanitarian mission.

Earlier Sunday, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov stated that Russia expects an earliest solution to the question of humanitarian aid to Ukraine's east, emphasising that the problem is monitored by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Lavrov said Russia was making efforts to reach an agreement with Ukraine, the ICRC, and the UN on humanitarian aid deliveries to Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

The Red Cross reported Friday that armed clashes between pro-Kiev troops and self-defence militias in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions had deteriorated the humanitarian situation in east Ukraine as thousands of families had been forced to flee their homes.

Almost 850,000 people have been forced to flee their homes since the start of Kiev's military operation in the country's southeast, of whom 730,000 have found shelter in Russia, according to data released by the office of the UN high commissioner for refugees.

--IANS/ITAR-TASS

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