Ukrainian representatives in the humanitarian subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group on settlement of the situation in Donbas will initiate the carrying out of the subgroup's online conference on the issue of releasing hostages on Wednesday, December 14, in order to reach a concrete decision at the group's meeting in Minsk on December 21.

"The Ukrainian side initiates on December 14 a Skype conference of the Trilateral Contact Group's humanitarian subgroup on one issue - the issue of releasing hostages. We have filed the relevant initiative with the OSCE [the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe], I hope that it will be supported by every side, if they are really interested in the release of hostages by Christmas," the Verkhovna Rada first deputy speaker, Ukrainian representative in the humanitarian subgroup, Iryna Gerashchenko, wrote on her Facebook page on Tuesday.

She recalled that on December 7 the Ukrainian side at a meeting of the humanitarian subgroup in Minsk has put forward an initiative: "We offered to hand over 228 people, whom separate districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions [the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics] requested in order to free those 42 people, who are confirmed in separate districts of Donetsk region, and six - in separate districts of Luhansk region."

Together with the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), inter-agency center for the release of hostages, in the Minsk group format "we have worked on new humanitarian initiatives all this week in order to speed up the process of release and so that people on both sides of the contact line will be at home, with their relatives for the holidays," Gerashchenko also said.

The Ukrainian side is willing to work in Skype conference format in order to reach a decision regarding freeing hostages "that would be productive and fruitful in Minsk on December 21," she said.