Ukraine, Donbas Agree To Discuss Lists For Prisoner Exchange - President's Office

Ukraine, Donbas Agree to Discuss Lists for Prisoner Exchange - President's Office

Ukraine and the breakaway republics in the Donbas region have agreed to negotiate on the lists of detainees for the next prisoner swap, the Office of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday

KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th May, 2020) Ukraine and the breakaway republics in the Donbas region have agreed to negotiate on the lists of detainees for the next prisoner swap, the Office of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, a regular meeting of the so-called Trilateral Contact Group for the peace process in Ukraine's conflict-torn region was held via video conference. According to Zelenskyy's office, the details on the prisoner exchange would be discussed at the next meeting of the contact group.

"In the framework of the work of the humanitarian group, an agreement was reached to discuss the lists for the mutual release of detainees at the next meeting," the statement from Zelenskyy read.

The sides also discussed the issue of new areas of the disengagement of forces, the implementation of the ceasefire and the access of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) mission to the territory controlled by the breakaway republics.

Kiev launched a military operation against the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in 2014 after they refused to recognize the new Ukrainian government, which came to power after what they considered to be a coup, and proclaimed independence from the country. The Trilateral Contact Group, which involves representatives of Ukraine, Russia and OSCE, aims to settle the conflict and has already facilitated several prisoner swaps between the sides.