Ukraine, rebels in largest prisoner swap

KIEV - The Ukrainian government and pro-independence insurgents in the eastern part of the country on Wednesday carried out their largest prisoner swap since the start of the conflict in April 2014, according to the reports from the rival parties.

During the exchange, the rebels in Donetsk and Lugansk have transferred 74 Ukrainian soldiers and pro-government civilians to Kiev, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko wrote on Facebook.

Meanwhile, the insurgent-run Lugansk Information Center said that the government has released 75 supporters of Lugansk rebels, but two of them refused to return to the insurgent-controlled area.

The prisoner swap between Kiev and Donetsk has also been completed, said Daria Morozova, the self-styled ombudsman of the self-proclaimed Donetsk republic.

However, she did not specify the number of people who were handed over to Donetsk.

Ukrainian media said later that Kiev has transferred a total of 238 people to the rebel-held area and 165 of them went to Donetsk.

The Ukrainian ombudsman Valeria Lutkovska told reporters that many people who were listed as Kiev hostages had been released from Ukrainian prisons earlier and did not arrive at the scene of the swap.

According to local media estimates, more than 100 Ukrainian soldiers and pro-government civilians and 86 insurgent supporters are still kept hostage by the sides.

On Dec 20, during the meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine's crisis in Minsk, Belarus, the conflicting parties agreed to carry out the exchange of the detained people before the winter holidays.

The prisoner swap is a key part of the Minsk ceasefire agreement, brokered by France and Germany, designed to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine that has killed some 10,000 people.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday welcomed the prisoner swap, calling on both parties to release the remaining captives and press for full implementation of a peace deal.

In a joint statement released by the French presidency, the two leaders called the exchange of prisoners "an important result", that "should contribute to building trust between the sides, with a view to the full implementation of the Minsk Agreements".

Macron and Merkel also urged Kiev and pro-Russia rebels to exchange all the remaining detainees, ensure full access of the International Committee of the Red Cross to all prisoners and facilitate a search for missing people.

Xinhua

(China Daily 12/29/2017 page11)