17:35 26.12.2017

Sajdik urges parties to provide conditions of dignity and respect for hostage exchange on Dec 27

1 min read
Sajdik urges parties to provide conditions of dignity and respect for hostage exchange on Dec 27

The OSCE Special Envoy to the Trilateral Contact Group, Martin Sajdik, has welcomed the agreements about hostage exchange scheduled for December 27 and called on the parties to ensure the terms of exchange at the proper level.

"I welcome that the sides have agreed to conduct an exchange of detainees on 27 December - a step long awaited by the prisoners and their families. This is a deeply humanitarian gesture, even more so on the occasion of Christmas and New Year," Sajdik said in a statement made available to Interfax-Ukraine.

He also called on the sides "to provide conditions of dignity and respect for each of the persons to be exchanged."

As reported, the exchange of hostages in Donbas is scheduled for Wednesday, December 27, which was confirmed by First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's representative in the humanitarian subgroup of the trilateral contact group Iryna Gerashchenko.

"Seventy-four Ukrainians will be released on December 27. We will exchange them for 306 persons who can be released consistent with the Ukrainian laws," she said.

According to Russian media reports, head of the so-called "DPR" Alexander Zakharchenko said that the exchange is scheduled for 13:00.

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