MOSCOW, February 2 /TASS/. The self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine has suggested a new scheme of exchanging prisoners with the Kiev authorities, according to the republic’s head Alexander Zakharchenko.

"The exchanges will take place but they are going to be different now. There will be clear lists of captivated militias who will be exchanged for Ukrainian servicemen. The Kiev authorities will no longer be able to hand over to us people who allegedly used to be connected to us at some time," Zakharchenko said on Monday.

"We will give them a clear list of our militias whom they will have to exchange to their servicemen. This will be the scheme," the Donetsk news agency quoted Zakharchenko as saying.

The DPR’s chief said that such prisoner exchanges were possible but did not clarify when exactly they could take place.

Denis Pushilin, who represents DPR at the Minsk negotiations of the Contact Group for the Ukraine settlement, said in his previous remarks that the republic would be ready to discuss the date of possible prisoner exchanges with Kiev only after the Ukrainian army ceased all fire and withdrew heavy weapons from the actual line of contact.