The UK Foreign Office welcomed on Tuesday a recent prisoner exchange between Kiev and the self-proclaimed republics of Luhansk and Donetsk (LPR, DPR), as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's efforts, the office said in a statement
LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st December, 2019) The UK Foreign Office welcomed on Tuesday a recent prisoner exchange between Kiev and the self-proclaimed republics of Luhansk and Donetsk (LPR, DPR), as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's efforts, the office said in a statement."We welcome the recent prisoner exchange in Ukraine. The return of Ukrainians detained by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine is long overdue. This prisoner exchange is another example of President Zelenskyy's determination to bring an end to the conflict in eastern Ukraine," the statement read.
The foreign office also hailed Zelenskyy's efforts to achieve justice in relation to those who took part in the 2014 Euromaidan protests.
At the same time, according to London, Russia should "fulfill its obligations under the Minsk agreements and immediately release all remaining Ukrainian political prisoners."
In April 2014, the Ukrainian authorities launched a military operation against the LPR and its neighboring DPR after they proclaimed independence from Ukraine and refused to recognize the new central government, which came to power after what they considered to be a coup.
At the recent Normandy Four talks in Paris, featuring Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine, the four parties agreed in a communique to establish a mechanism for the exchange of prisoners. Russian President Vladimir Putin has continually stated that Moscow's Primary goal in the region is to implement the Minsk agreements.
On Sunday, the first prisoner exchange since 2017 between Kiev and the self-proclaimed Donbas republics took place. Kiev returned 124 people to the DPR and LPR, while the republics returned 76 people to Kiev-controlled territory.
