President Putin affirms that Russia-Ukraine relations will certainly normalize

President Putin speaks at the Eastern Economic Forum. Photo: TASS

“I think that this will certainly happen in the future. I mean a complete normalization of relations, because we are two parts of one nation, and I have repeatedly said this,” Putin said.

Speaking about the restoration of relations with Ukraine in the near future, Putin noted that this largely depends on the new Ukrainian leadership. Putin mentioned that negotiations on the exchange of prisoners with Ukraine will be completed soon.

“Taking into account the humanitarian issue, we are moving towards completing the ongoing negotiations with the authorities, so I think this will be announced in the near future,” Putin said.

The Russian President believes that the next prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine will be large-scale. He noted that this will be a positive step towards normalizing bilateral relations.

“As for the exchange, I believe that the scale will be quite large, and that will be a good step towards normalizing relations,” Putin affirmed.

The Russian leader said that the head of the political council of the Ukrainian party “Opposition Platform - For Life” Viktor Medvedchuk, who was present at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum, would “torture” him on this issue.

“I know that he is particularly concerned about a number of people who are currently in prisons in the Russian Federation, and it is quite difficult for us to make decisions about these individuals,” the Russian President noted.