Madrid November 15 (Europe Press) –
Rustem Umerov, Secretary of the State Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, announced this Saturday that an agreement has been reached with the Russian authorities on the exchange of 1,200 prisoners on each side. The agreement has already been approved by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“By order of the President of Ukraine, I have recently maintained contact with mediators of our partners in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates for the resumption of the exchange process and the release of our nationals detained by Russia,” Umerov explained in a message posted on his Telegram account.
After these negotiations, Moscow and Kiev agreed to invoke the Istanbul Agreement. “It’s for the release of 1,200 Ukrainians,” he explained.
Technical negotiations currently remain, which will take place in the near future. “We are working tirelessly to ensure that Ukrainians who have to return from captivity can celebrate the New Year and Christmas with their relatives at home, at the family table,” he said.
Mr. Umerov was also scheduled to discuss the issue of the return of minors in custody transferred to Russia from territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by the Russian military with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
Meanwhile, in his daily afternoon speech, President Zelenskiy stressed that he had “missed the new deadline” given to occupying the islands of Pokrovska and Kupianska, which were besieged by Russian forces.
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