Preparations for the exchange of prisoners between Kiev and the Donbass continue at the meetings in Minsk devoted to a peaceful settlement, the Ombudsman of the Donetsk People’s Republic of Daria Morozova told RIA Novosti on Friday.
Earlier, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister said that a large-scale exchange of detainees is scheduled for the next week.
“This issue (exchange of prisoners – Ed.) is being actively discussed in the Minsk format. And the exchange is being discussed between the parties to the conflict: Ukraine, the DPR and the LPR. The negotiations take place within the framework of Minsk platform,” Morozova said.
She hesitates to make any prediction regarding the date of the prisoner exchange. Now everything depends on Kiev, she said.
In April 2014, the Ukrainian authorities launched a military operation against the LPR and the DPR, which declared independence after the coup d’état in Ukraine in February 2014. According to the latest UN data, about 13 thousand people became victims of the conflict. The issue of resolving the situation in Donbass is being discussed, including during the meetings of the Contact Group in Minsk, which, since September 2014, has already adopted three documents regulating steps to de-escalate the conflict. However, even after armistice agreements between the parties to the conflict, exchange of fire continues.
