Ukraine, pro-Russia forces agree on prisoner exchange
Iran Press TV
Fri Dec 26, 2014 8:12AM GMT
Ukraine has agreed to swap detained pro-Russia forces with dozens of its soldiers.
Ukrainian security services announced Thursday that they have agreed on a prisoner swap deal to exchange 150 army troops with 225 pro-Russia forces.
According to reports, the agreement was reached in a meeting between members of the so-called Contact Group in the Belarusian capital of Minsk on Wednesday.
The group is comprised of pro-Russia forces and officials from Kiev, Moscow and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Leader of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, Igor Plotnitsky, said that the deal should be implemented before December 28.
Meanwhile, reports have emerged that the contact group may convene for another meeting in Minsk later Friday.
The group is trying to find a solution to the crisis in east Ukraine, which has claimed the lives of more than 4,700 people, displacing millions more.
In early September, members of the group signed a document known as Minsk Protocol to halt the war. However, the terms and conditions of the ceasefire continue to be broken by the two warring sides.
MS/HSN/KA
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