MOSCOW, August 20 (RIA Novosti) - The International Committee of the Red Cross' Head of Operations for Europe and Central Asia Laurent Corbaz met with Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in Moscow to discuss the delivery of Russian humanitarian aid to southeastern Ukraine, the ICRC told RIA Novosti Wednesday.
"The meeting with Ryabkov took place at the foreign ministry," ICRC representative Victoria Zotikova said.
Corbaz is expected to have an informal meeting with the head of the Russian Red Cross, Raisa Lukutsova, the ICRC said.
Corbaz has already visited Kiev, where he discussed the humanitarian aid delivery issue.
An advance party of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) employees have already set out on the suggested route for the delivery of Russian humanitarian aid to eastern Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said earlier Wednesday.
The first 16 trucks of the Russian convoy carrying humanitarian aid to southeastern Ukraine are at the Donetsk-Izvaryne border checkpoint, where the drivers are receiving instructions from ICRC representatives. The rest of the 280-truck convoy remains near the town of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky some 20 miles away.
It remains unclear when the trucks would start moving toward Ukraine, as earlier reports suggested the Red Cross had not received security guarantees for the convoy to safely drive through the conflict-torn Ukrainian regions to deliver the cargo.
In early August, amid the worsening humanitarian situation in Ukraine, Russia proposed to send an international humanitarian mission to eastern Ukraine with Russian aid under the auspices of the ICRC.
A convoy carrying about 2,000 tons of humanitarian aid including baby food, medication, grain, sugar and other basic necessities set off from the Moscow Region on August 12 heading towards Ukraine's conflict areas.
