Deputy Head of PO: Expanding prisoner exchanges and repatriation of Ukrainians key to peace
This was stated by Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Ihor Zhovkva in an interview with Ukrinform.
“If the Russian side does not agree to a serious number of exchanges, the return of civilians and Ukrainian children, it means that it is not ready for a serious conversation about peace. Let's hope that there will be constructive behavior here as well,” Zhovkva said.
He noted that fixing the exchange of prisoners of war, the return of Ukrainian civilians and Ukrainian children as part of the ceasefire is no less important result of the meeting in Jeddah, along with lifting the pause in the supply of weapons and intelligence information from the United States. He noted that humanitarian aspects are a means of building trust between the parties.
“So, we will see how much the Russian side is ready to talk about a serious number of exchanges, because exchanges are now taking place regularly. At the same time, Ukrainian children are returning in very small numbers. Of course, I would like these numbers to increase significantly. During the meeting, we discussed specific figures, but we cannot disclose them to the public yet,” he added.
As reported by Ukrinform, more than 16,000 Ukrainian civilians are held in Russian captivity, of whom 168 have been released.
On March 11, negotiations between representatives of Ukraine and the United States took place in Saudi Arabia. As a result, the Ukrainian delegation, in particular, supported the US proposal to establish a complete ceasefire for 30 days along the entire front line.
