MOSCOW. June 10 (Interfax) - Russia believes the restrictions on the use of peacekeepers from countries that are permanent members of the UN Security Council in the Golan heights area imposed decades ago are obsolete and should not be cited when making a decision on sending Russian peacekeepers there, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said on Twitter.
"We shouldn't cite forty-year-old restrictions here. The tasks of maintaining peace and stability require a different political mentality," Gatilov said.
"If the UN Security Council is really concerned about the tensions on the Golan Heights, sending a Russian military contingent there would be a solution," Gatilov said.
UN official Marin Nesirky earlier said the peacekeepers' mandate in the division zone between Israel and Syria on the Golan Heights does not allow Russia to send its peacekeepers to the region.
Gatilov said he believes the issue of the composition of the peacekeeping contingent lies in the terms of reference of the UN Security Council, not a representative of the UN secretary-general.
"It is not in the terms of reference of the UN secretary-general's spokesman to decide what countries can be represented in the contingents on the Golan Heights. Such decisions are made by the UN Security Council," he said on Twitter.
The proposal to send Russian peacekeepers to the Golan Heights was made by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. He said on Friday Russia is ready to replace the Austrian peacekeepers in the Golan heights if the Un agrees and if the countries of the region are interested in that.
Fighting went on in the Golan Heights area on Thursday. Syrian militants have assumed control over the only border pass between Syria and the Golan Heights, which are controlled by Israel. During the fighting, one artillery shell fell on the UN peacekeepers camp in the Golan Heights. A UN peacekeeper from the Philippines was wounded.
After that, the Austrian authorities announced their plans to withdraw their 377 peacekeepers from the Golan Heights.