President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Pedro Agramunt has urged Russia to release Ukrainian pilot and member of the Assembly Nadia Savchenko.

"At the beginning of the April 2016 part-session, I have to reiterate once again my serious concerns about the situation of our member, Nadia Savchenko, who remains in detention in the Russian Federation. I deplore her continued detention and call once again for her release, including in line with the provisions of the General Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Council of Europe, and Russia's commitments under the Minsk agreements," the PACE press service quoted Agramunt as saying.

In his words, this was especially important in the light of reports about her continuing hunger strike and her deteriorating health condition.

The PACE president urged the Russian authorities to take the necessary steps in order to address this humanitarian issue urgently, including in the context of a possible prisoner exchange with the Ukrainian authorities.

"As I have already underlined on previous occasions, addressing the situation of our Assembly colleague is a top priority for me. The defense of the rights of parliamentarians – their liberty, their freedom of movement and their freedom of speech – is one of the focuses of my mandate," Agramunt said.