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Kiev actively negotiates next exchange of detainees with Russia — top diplomat

According to the minister, the negotiations are very "delicate," so Ukraine’s foreign partners are not taking part

KIEV, September 21. /TASS/. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadim Pristayko said that negotiations about the next exchange of detained persons between Russia and Ukraine proceed very actively.

"I would like to tell you that the work proceeds very actively. I’m not going to announce anything, but I hope that we will have more reasons for joy soon," he told Hromadske TV.

According to the minister, the negotiations are very "delicate," so Ukraine’s foreign partners are not taking part.

"Moreover, the partners are not even eager to join those delicate talks. As you can see, difficult decisions were made, and the price of those decisions can sometimes be very high," he said, adding that he meant the swap of Vladimir Tsemakh, whom The Netherlands earlier identified as a suspect in the 2014 MH17 plane crash.

On September 7, Moscow and Kiev carried out a detainee exchange based on the "35 for 35" formula. Preparations for the exchange were intensified after Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky took office. Russian President Vladimir Putin had said earlier that the move might help improve bilateral relations.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on September 13 that Russia and Ukraine may hold a new exchange of detainees, but warned that preparing it would take lots of work and time.