Kuleba says detainee exchange a top priority for Ukraine

He said this during a TV linkup on April 9 organized by U.S. think tank Atlantic Council, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"The liberation of our people, the exchange is a top priority for us," Kuleba said.

He stressed that this issue "remains the absolute focus of attention for the government." Kuleba recalled that agreements on the prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine were reached on April 8.

"We aim to greet our people at home for the Easter holidays according to the Orthodox calendar, i.e. next week," the minister said.

He also said: "We know the number [of people to be exchanged] from both sides."

He said he would refrain from making more detailed comments in order not to jeopardize the agreements reached.

Kuleba expressed hope that agreements on the detainee exchange would also create conditions for "unblocking other issues on the agenda."

Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group, Ambassador Heidi Grau, said in a press statement on April 9 that during the regular meetings of the Trilateral Contact Group through video conferencing from April 6 to April 8, the sides had agreed in principle on the next phase of the exchange with a view to its completion in the near future.

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