13:45 05.05.2016

Minsk agreements stipulate exchange of all Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia – Kuleba

1 min read
Minsk agreements stipulate exchange of all Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia – Kuleba

All Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia and Crimea are subject to exchange, according to the Minsk agreements, Ukraine's Ambassador-at-Large Dmytro Kuleba has said.

"All our Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia and Crimea must be returned. As for the exchange of political prisoners in Russia, we recognize the "all-for-all" principle laid out in the Minsk agreements," Kuleba said on TV Channel 5 air on Wednesday.

He said Ukrainian pilot and MP Nadia Savchenko, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison in Russia, would be exchanged as per a political agreement, the legal nuances of which are being settled.

"Negotiations are ongoing on the political and legal levels to find the formula which will enable Nadia's comeback," the diplomat said.

"[Ukrainian Foreign Minister] Pavlo Klimkin brings up a point of Savchenko's release along with other political prisoners in Russia at the next meeting of Foreign Ministry heads of so-called "Normandy Four"," Kuleba added.

Moscow's treatment of other (Ukrainian) political prisoners, such as Stanislav Klykh and Mykola Karpiuk, is as follows: Russian courts sentence them after show trials in an "imitation of justice".

"For that reason it is necessary to wait for (court) sentences and then secure their release," Kuleba said.

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