Ukraine: Self-proclaimed Donetsk Republic declares halt to prisoner exchange
On November 10, the Ukrainian national news agency UNN quoted an announcement from the press center of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic saying that the prisoner exchange would be suspended.
The head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Aleksandr Zakharchenko, announced that they have decided not to exchange more prisoners until before the upcoming trilateral meeting in Minsk, Belarus.
 |
| Donetsk separatists escort prisoners on the street in July 2014 (Source: AFP) |
According to Mr. Zakharchenko, the main topic of the upcoming trilateral meeting will be to discuss the exchange of prisoners of war between the Donetsk Republic and the Ukrainian side.
“We are preparing to make a final decision on the prisoner exchange. We have very serious problems with the Kiev authorities on this,” Zakharchenko said.
The leader of the self-proclaimed republic said that they did not receive the correct people according to the list of requests given to the Kiev authorities.
“You give a list of some people, but you get completely different people,” Zakharchenko told reporters, emphasizing that he would only exchange those who were guaranteed to meet the requirements.
The leader of Donetsk called the prisoner exchange a “farce.” But confirmed that the Donetsk Republic will send Mr. Denis Pushilin as a representative to participate in the three-way meeting to take place in the Belarusian capital Minsk./.
According to VNA
