Macron, Merkel welcome detainee exchange
“German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President of France Emmanuel Macron welcome the release of detainees and their exchange in eastern Ukraine,” reads the statement on website of the Federal Government of Germany.
As noted, the exchange on the eve of the holidays became a “long-awaited positive step.”
On December 29, seventy-six Ukrainians returned home following the detainee exchange in eastern Ukraine.
On December 9, the President of the French Republic, the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, the President of the Russian Federation and the President of Ukraine stated at the Normandy format summit in Paris that the parties would take measures to encourage the Trilateral Contact Group to contribute to release and exchange of the conflict-related detainees by the end of the year on “all-for-all” basis, starting with “all identified for all identified” principle on the understanding that international organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), would be given full and unconditional access to all detained persons.
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