Donetsk, May 27 – DAN. The Ukrainian side refused to legally ‘clear’ conflict-related detainees transferred to the DPR in a POW swap from criminal proceedings, the DPR Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
“With regard to the most important issue on the agenda of the working group on humanitarian issues - the exchange of detainees, and, in particular, the legal clearing of conflict-related detainees transferred to the DPR in a POW swap, it should be noted that, unexpectedly for all, the Ukrainian representatives said that they have never assumed such obligations” , the statement reads.
According to the Foreign Ministry, such an attitude provoked a reaction even from the mediator of the negotiations from the OSCE.
"Such a step back in the position of the Ukrainian negotiators did not go unnoticed by the coordinator, Ambassador (Tony) Frisch, who reminded that these agreements have been in force since 2017 and urged Kiev to get back to fulfilling its obligations,” the Ministry said.
Ukrainian authorities have not completed the legal clearance of detainees who were handed over to the DPR in course of the prisoner exchanges on December 29, 2019 and April 16, 2020. *ot