Berlin praises OSCE ambassador's role in exchange of detainees in eastern Ukraine

The exchange of detained persons in eastern Ukraine on April 16 is an important step, and OSCE Ambassador Heidi Grau played a special role in this process.

German government spokesperson Steffen Seibert said this at a briefing on Friday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"This is an important step, and we welcome it," Seibert said.

He stressed that another detainee exchange, in advance of the Orthodox Easter, was carried out to implement the agreements reached in Paris last December by the leaders of the Normandy Format and is one of the steps "in a series of continuous efforts to peacefully end this conflict."

Seibert also praised the role of the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Heidi Grau, who has made many fruitful efforts in the work with the Trilateral Contact Group.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called Ambassador Grau on April 17 to personally thank her for "facilitating these important steps," German Foreign Office spokesperson Maria Adebahr added.

Maas, together with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian, jointly welcomed the exchange and called for the implementation of other points of the Paris arrangements and the Minsk agreements.

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