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Russian diplomat hails Russian-Ukrainian prisoner swap as landmark step

"Concrete steps are the best algorism of actions," Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova concluded

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova Sergey Karpukhin/TASS

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova

© Sergey Karpukhin/TASS

MOSCOW, September 7. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has hailed the prisoner swap carried out by Moscow and Kiev on Saturday as a milestone and called on the sides to keep up the current attitude in order to resolve problems.

"In spite of provocations and objective difficulties, the process did take place. A landmark step," she wrote on Facebook. "This attitude should be supported to solve problems, but not to aggravate them. Political willpower and systemic meticulous work bear fruit."

In this connection, Zakharova pointed out that constant anti-Russian rhetoric would not bring Kiev closer to resolving present domestic political and economic problems.

"Concrete steps are the best algorism of actions," she concluded.

On Saturday afternoon, a plane of the special flight unit Rossiya landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, carrying Russian nationals released in a prisoner swap with Ukraine. A Ukrainian aircraft touched down at Kiev airport at approximately the same time. Russia’s Human Rights Commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova said that the prisoner swap was carried out in conformity with the ‘35 for 35’ principle.

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