Donetsk, Dec 4 - DAN. Ukraine should abandon the manipulation of detainee lists at the Minsk talks and agree to exchange prisoners under the “all verified for all verified” formula on December 27, Donetsk People’s Republic envoy to the Contact Group, DPR Foreign Minister Natalia Nikonorova said on Tuesday.
“We offered Kiev to complete the second stage of prisoner exchange under the “all verified for all verified” formula on December 27, 2018,” Nikonorova said. “We do not accept shortlists: every single name means a human life and the fate of his relatives. We urge Ukraine not to look for all kinds of stratagems and confirm its readiness to carry out the exchange under this formula.”
The DPR leadership will make all efforts to carry the process through, the diplomat added.
Earlier reports on Tuesday said that the DPR offered Ukraine to swap prisoners on December 27.
The Donetsk People’s Republic and Ukraine last exchanged prisoners on December 27, 2017. Ukraine handed over 160 people to Donetsk, and DPR passed 57 people to Kiev. The talks on subsequent detainee swaps were put on hold. DPR representatives in Minsk repeatedly said that the Ukrainian negotiators had avoided substantive discussion of the agenda and skipped the talks several times.*jk