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Moscow values highly Ukrainian Choice leader role in captive swap - presidential spokesman

“His constructive ties showed that these talks have no alternative to shape an atmosphere of trust and to achieve concrete results to settle the conflict in Ukraine,” Peskov noted

Ukrainian Choice political organization leader Viktor Medvedchuk (R) seen during by far the largest exchange of war prisoners between the Ukrainian Government and Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Valery Sharifulin/TASS

Ukrainian Choice political organization leader Viktor Medvedchuk (R) seen during by far the largest exchange of war prisoners between the Ukrainian Government and Donetsk People's Republic (DPR)

© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

MOSCOW, December 28. /TASS/. Moscow praises highly the participation of Ukrainian Choice public movement leader Viktor Medvedchuk in talks for a captive exchange between Ukrainian authorities and representatives of conflict-torn regions in southeast Ukraine.

“Moscow values highly the role which Medvedchuk played in attaining an accord on the recent captive swap,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS.

“In fact, his constructive ties showed that these talks have no alternative to shape an atmosphere of trust and to achieve concrete results to settle the conflict in Ukraine,” he noted.

“This is Medvedchuk who succeeded to agree on a captive swap with representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics,” a Ukrainian Choice source said earlier on Sunday. “The contact which he established with representatives of the self-proclaimed republics played its role in this issue. Such a large exchange was finally attained,” the source said.

“Medvedchuk’s participation makes guarantees that our people will be freed much higher,” spokesman of Ukrainian Security Service Markiyan Lubkovsky said.

“Good working contacts with Medvedchuk made it possible to release 222 militias,” Donetsk republican Defence Minister Vladimir Kononov said.

On December 26, the 222-for-150 captive swap most massive for the whole period of conflict in southeast Ukraine was made between militias of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic and Kiev law enforcers.

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Ukraine crisis Foreign policy Ukraine Eastern Ukraine

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