"Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, said on Saturday that he held consultations mediated by Turkiye and the United Arab Emirates on resuming prisoner of war exchanges, which the two sides have carried out successfully multiple times. He said the parties agreed to activate prisoner exchange agreements brokered in Istanbul to release 1,200 Ukrainians. The Istanbul agreements refer to prisoner exchange protocols established with Turkish mediation in 2022 that set rules for large, coordinated swaps."
"But the swaps have been the only progress of any note in talks between the two sides as the war rages on and another punishing winter approaches with oil and energy sites being targeted by both Moscow and Kyiv. Authorities in Moscow did not immediately comment on the issue. Umerov said technical consultations would be held soon to finalise procedural and organisational details,"
Ukraine is working to resume prisoner exchanges with Russia that could bring 1,200 Ukrainians home, Zelenskyy said. Rustem Umerov held consultations mediated by Turkiye and the United Arab Emirates and said parties agreed to activate prisoner exchange agreements brokered in Istanbul. Those 2022 protocols set rules for large coordinated swaps; thousands have been traded since but exchanges remain sporadic. Exchanges have been the only tangible progress amid a fourth year of war and rising attacks on oil and energy sites. Technical consultations are planned to finalise procedures, with the hope returning Ukrainians can spend holidays at home. Finnish President Alexander Stubb warned a ceasefire is unlikely before spring and urged continued European support despite a corruption scandal affecting Kyiv.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]