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Kosachev sees exchange of detainees with Kiev as first step from confrontation to dialogue

There is the first step of transition from confrontation to dialogue, senator said

MOSCOW, September 7. /TASS/. The exchange of detainees between Russia and Ukraine, which saw numerous attempts to disrupt it in the past, is the first step of transition from confrontation to dialogue and may lay the foundation for implementation of the Minsk agreements, a prominent Russian senator wrote on his Facebook page.

"I think that at last we can make a sigh of relief as the exchange of detainees between Russia and Ukraine has taken place, at last," said Konstantin Kosachev, who heads the foreign affairs committee of the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, the Federation Council.

"The true scope of this event can only be seen if we know that it was preceded by long negotiations, intense bargaining, numerous attempts to disrupt it and false starts," the senator. "In fact, this is the first step on the way from confrontation to dialogue, and we need to convey our sincere gratitude to those whose efforts made this possible."

"However, with all due respect to the political significance of this swap, which may lay the foundation for progress under the Minsk scenario and remains an important precondition for further Normandy format agreements, I would like to place a special emphasis on the humanitarian aspect of this event," Kosachev went on.

The last large-scale exchange of detainees between Ukraine and the Donbass republics took place in December 2017. Back then, Kiev exchanged 233 prisoners for 73 detained Ukrainian citizens. The parties underlined that the release of prisoners was not over and they would make every effort to continue this process. However, since then, the parties were failing to reach new agreements on mutual release and exchange of prisoners.

The special aircraft of Rossiya flight unit Tu-204 carrying Russian citizens released within the prisoner swap landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport earlier on Saturday. The Ukrainian special aircraft landed roughly at the same time at the Boryspil International Airport. Russian Human Rights Ombudsperson Tatyana Moskalkova said that the exchange of detainees was based on the ‘35 for 35’ formula.

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