Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Kiev did not have any direct contacts with the representatives from Ukraine's self-proclaimed republics of Luhansk and Donetsk, but if it did, perhaps the prisoner exchange would have been facilitated quicker
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th December, 2019) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Kiev did not have any direct contacts with the representatives from Ukraine's self-proclaimed republics of Luhansk and Donetsk, but if it did, perhaps the prisoner exchange would have been facilitated quicker.
The first prisoner exchange since 2017 between Kiev and the self-proclaimed Donbas republics took place on Sunday, with Kiev returning 124 people to Donbas and the republics returning 76 people to the Kiev-controlled territory.
"Ukraine practically does not have any direct bilateral contacts between representatives of [Donetsk] and [Luhansk]. If it did, maybe [the exchange] would have been facilitated [quicker]. This is why there is a trilateral commission there, only because there are no direct contacts," Perskov said.
He added that the exchange took place between the two sides of the conflict � Ukraine and the two self-proclaimed republics � and that Russia did not have any involvement in it, other than President Vladimir Putin using his influence to facilitate the dialogue.
"Russian President [Vladimir Putin] is not participating in the talks or contacts. [Putin] is using his influence and authority to facilitate such an exchange. The exchange is happening only between the two sides. As you know, Russia does not have anything to do with it," Peskov said.
