Macron, Merkel welcome release of prisoners in eastern Ukraine

That is why the parties should continue making efforts to simplify the exchange of the rest of the prisoners, to gain access to all the prisoners for the International Committee of the Red Cross and to simplify the search for missing persons by the ICRC mission, reads the joint statement of French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"The President of France and the German Chancellor welcome the agreement reached in the Trilateral Contact Group regarding the release of 380 prisoners from both sides of the contact line," the joint statement reads.

"There is a significant progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements. The leaders [Macron and Merkel] also call on the parties to continue making efforts to simplify the exchange of the rest of the prisoners, to gain access to all the prisoners for the International Committee of the Red Cross and to simplify the search for missing persons by the ICRC mission," the document says.

The French President and the German Chancellor also called for "the return of Russian officers to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination, which plays a very important role in supporting OSCE observers and monitoring compliance with the ceasefire regime."

In addition, Macron and Merkel urge to open additional entry-exit checkpoints and promised to continue to closely monitor "the developments and the way the parties fulfill their obligations."

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