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Strong ties with both Russia, Ukraine result in prisoner swap — UAE MFA

The UAE thanked both the Russian and Ukrainian governments for "for their cooperation and response to the UAE's mediation efforts to make the exchange process a success, despite the challenges posed by the ongoing war"

DUBAI, January 3. /TASS/. The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) successful mediation in the prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine stems from Abu Dhabi’s strong relations with both Moscow and Kiev, the UAE Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"The success of the mediation efforts was a reflection of the strong friendly relations between the UAE and both the Russian Federation and the Republic of Ukraine, which were supported by sustained calls at the highest levels, and which resulted in one of the largest exchanges of captives between the two sides since the beginning of the war," said the statement published on the UAE Foreign Ministry’s website.

The UAE thanked both the Russian and Ukrainian governments for "for their cooperation and response to the UAE's mediation efforts to make the exchange process a success, despite the challenges posed by the ongoing war."

In addition, the UAE emphasized that it will continue efforts aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine, and also called for de-escalation and for support of "all initiatives that mitigate the humanitarian repercussions resulting from the crisis."

On Wednesday, Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the Rossiya Segodnya media group, said that 248 Russian and 173 Ukrainian servicemen were released during a prisoner swap between Moscow and Kiev. According to Simonyan, 75 Russian servicemen were exchanged for five militants of the nationalist regiment Azov (designated as a terrorist organization and outlawed in Russia), who returned to Ukraine last July. The Defense Ministry said in a statement that the Russian soldiers were returned from the Kiev-controlled territory as a result of difficult negotiations and thanks to the UAE’s mediation efforts.

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