“I would like to welcome the exchange of prisoners that is taking place today, following negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow,” said Liliane Maury Pasquier, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). “In our recent resolutions on the conflict in Ukraine and its humanitarian consequences, we repeatedly called for the release of all persons captured during the conflict. I am particularly pleased with the release of film-maker Oleg Sentsov, which the Assembly has been pressing for. I also welcome the release of the Ukrainian sailors arrested during the Kerch Strait incident in November 2018 – their release was one of the specific requests that the Assembly addressed to the Russian Federation in June 2019, when the credentials of its parliamentary delegation were ratified, and in an earlier resolution in January,” she said. “The release of those detained in the context of the conflict is undoubtedly a gesture of goodwill unprecedented since 2014. We encourage all parties concerned to continue their efforts to bring an end to this conflict. Full respect for the ceasefire and the withdrawal of weapons, as well as full implementation of the Minsk agreements, are essential conditions for a lasting peace. Our Assembly stands ready to support all efforts towards these goals,” the President said.
PACE