UN Secretary-General comments on third stage of release of Ukrainians

17.04.2020 10:12

Ukrinform

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has welcomed a mutual release of detainees and expressed hope for other steps in the context of his call for a global ceasefire.

Guterres said this in a statement published by the UN Secretary-General's press office.

"He hopes that this important humanitarian action in advance of Orthodox Easter will serve as a positive step towards more progress, including a permanent ceasefire, in line with his global appeal, as well as further disengagement of forces and unimpeded humanitarian access across the contact line," the statement reads.

At the same time, the UN Secretary-General urged all relevant parties to take further measures in this spirit, as part of the ongoing peace efforts by the Normandy Four, the Trilateral Contact Group, the OSCE and other actors, in order to enable progress in the implementation of the Minsk Agreements.

As was reported earlier, 20 Ukrainian citizens, who were held in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, returned to government-controlled areas as a result of a mutual release on April 16.

In particular, nine Ukrainians were held by militants for a long time in the occupied territories of Donetsk region and 11 more in the occupied territories of Luhansk region. Among them are two Ukrainian soldiers. The exchange took place at the Mayorske checkpoint in Donetsk region and near the town of Shchastia in Luhansk region.

Instead, 14 citizens left for the occupied territories. The mutual release of detainees took place as part of the "all-for-all" format.

The exchange first took place according to the formula when Ukraine transferred more people than it received. Thirty-eight people were released as a result of the exchange of detained persons on April 16. Thirty-four of them were transferred, and four refused to move to the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Upon return, Ukrainian citizens will undergo observation and verification procedures.

This was the third detainee exchange in the past seven months. The previous mutual release of detained persons took place in December 2019, when 76 Ukrainians returned home.