MINSK/MOSCOW, June 21. /TASS/. Russia’s Commissioner for Human Rights Tatyana Moskalkova and the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) Commissioner Valeria Lutkovskaya have agreed to conclude an agreement on the transfer of Ukrainian prisoners serving their sentences in Simferopol to Ukraine, they told reporters in the Belarusian capital Minsk on Tuesday after their meeting.
"We have not only checked the lists, but also agreed on the transfer of Ukrainian prisoners who are held in the Simferopol pretrial detention facility No. 1, to Ukrainian territory", Moskalkova said.
According to her, the two ombudspersons discussed the mechanism of turning to the national authorities that have the competence over this transfer.
Valeria Lutkovskaya said for her part that the sides exchanged the prisoners’ lists. "We talked about 18 persons, exchanged the lists, but my list is a little bigger, it’s not a complete list yet," Lutkovskaya said. According to her, the meeting was constructive.
Tatyana Moskalkova also said that the parties discussed other issues of cooperation with the aim of "promoting democracy and protection of human rights."
According to information on the website of the Russian Human Rights Commissioner, Moskalkova and Lutkovskaya agreed on further cooperation within the framework of the sides’ existing agreement of 2013, on "expanding the exchange of information on the observance of the rights and legitimate interests of the two states’ citizens and the ruling principle of cooperation: protection of human rights outside of politics".
"Tatyana Moskalkova emphasized the importance of the exchange of experience in the forms and methods of work of the national human rights institutions, the establishment of a constructive dialogue and expressed the hope that joint efforts will be fruitful," according to the website.