Kyiv, Nov 16 (IANS) Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, said that Ukraine has agreed to resume the prisoner exchange process with Russia during recent consultations mediated by Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
“As a result of these negotiations, the parties agreed to activate the Istanbul arrangements. This concerns the release of 1,200 Ukrainians,” Umerov wrote on Facebook.
Technical consultations will take place soon to finalise all procedural and organisational details, said Umerov, adding that Kiev aims to bring Ukrainians home from captivity by the winter holidays, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Ukraine and Russia held three rounds of negotiations in Turkey in May, June and July, reaching the so-called Istanbul agreements on exchanging their captives and bodies of fallen soldiers.
Earlier in August, Russia and Ukraine exchanged another 146 prisoners, the Russian Defence Ministry said.
Ukraine also returned eight residents of Russia’s Kursk region. The area was briefly seized by Ukraine in a surprise attack in August 2024, before Russian forces recaptured it earlier this year.
The Russian servicemen are in Belarus receiving psychological and medical assistance before being transported to Russia.
The United Arab Emirates mediated the exchange.
The third round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine was held in Istanbul on July 23. After the talks, Russian Presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky said both sides had agreed to exchange at least 1,200 prisoners each.
Earlier in July, Russia and Ukraine exchanged prisoners of conflict as delegations of the two countries held their third round of direct talks in the Turkish city.
The swap was conducted in accordance with the agreements both sides reached during their last talks on June 2 in Istanbul, the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement.
During the second round, they agreed on an “all-for-all” exchange of seriously ill and wounded prisoners, and soldiers under the age of 25, as well as the transfer of the bodies of fallen soldiers.
–IANS
int/akl/sd
