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POW swaps impossible without decision by topmost officials, says human rights commissioner

Tatyana Moskalkova noted that she "will wait for the Turkish side to publish a roadmap" on the initiative on humanitarian corridors

АNKARA, January 12. /TASS/. Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova said that without decisions by the topmost leadership, any initiatives on the reciprocal exchanges of those wounded or captured are impossible.

"No actions related to the reciprocal release of individuals who sustained wounds or to prisoner swaps are possible without official decisions by special state government bodies, the Defense Ministry and, of course, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief," she told reporters on Thursday in Ankara where she is participating in an international ombudsman conference replying to a question on expectations from Turkey’s initiative on setting up humanitarian corridors for wounded Russian and Ukrainian servicemen.

"We will expect a decision on the matter [from the Russian leadership]. And, of course, this should be a trilateral decision," she added.

The ombudswoman noted that she "will wait for the Turkish side to publish a roadmap" on the initiative on humanitarian corridors. "It is necessary to understand what it means," she added.

On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he supported the idea of setting up humanitarian corridors to transport those wounded from the combat zone in Ukraine and other regions. He noted that the initiative was set forth by Turkey’s ombudsman Seref Malkoc.

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