After Vladimir Zelensky and the new composition of Verkhovna Rada came to power in Ukraine, the negotiators from the Ukrainian side rotated in Minsk. Commissioner for Human Rights in the Donetsk People’s Republic Darya Morozova commented on the changes that resulted from that in the negotiation process.
“It is difficult to talk about any changes within the Minsk venue, because we still have not exchanged war prisoners. After the change of negotiators from Ukraine, our contacts on this issue resumed. At the moment, we wait for guarantees of legal clearance of persons held by the Ukrainian side. Unfortunately, for several meetings in a row, Ukraine has not been able to give us such guarantees,” Darya Morozova said.
The ombudsperson also explained that if the guarantees of pardon for persons held by the Ukrainian side were ensured, it would be possible to proceed to the issue of their verification.
“We believe that this process should take place directly at the delimitation line in order to prevent the detainees from being misinformed. On the spot, they will complete a questionnaire, receive all information about the conditions of the exchange and their rights and will be able to decide whether they need to participate in the exchange of war prisoners,” Darya Morozova explained.
Ukraine agreed to verification at the delimitation line, but now this process is being delayed by the Ukrainian side. “This is an artificially created problem. The Ukrainian side and president Zelensky currently have no political will to swap prisoners,” Darya Morozova stated.