In connection with the appointment of the new official representative of Ukraine in the Humanitarian Subgroup of the Contact Group on peaceful settlement in Donbass, today’s meeting had an introductory nature.
Discussing the issues of unblocking the negotiation process, we underlined the need to resume the exchange of information between the parties and provide a response to previous requests on key positions.
As regards the issue of the prisoner exchange, we reiterated the readiness of the Donetsk People’s Republic for its implementation and openness to discuss lists of persons to be exchanged.
The second half of the meeting was focused on issues of organizing a joint search for missing persons. We managed to discuss in detail a number of possible difficulties, from legal detail to practical aspects. We were able to identify issues of most pressing concern that require additional consideration and will be addressed at the next meeting.
I hope that the beginning of the work of the Humanitarian Subgroup in such a fruitful manner will contribute to the speedy development and implementation of mechanisms to resolve issues on the agenda.
