Russian chief negotiator declares readiness for POW exchange
"Russia is ready to start exchanging prisoners of war with Ukraine between June 7 and 9," stated Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky, as reported by Russian portal Tass. The exchange is supposed to occur on June 7-9, which was agreed upon earlier in Istanbul.
"We assume that there will probably be 1,200 people on each side, and this will again be the largest exchange of prisoners of war. We are ready to begin on June 7, 8, and 9. We, for our part, are fully prepared for this," said Vladimir Medinsky on the expected POW exchange.
Additionally, as UNN reports, the Russian side is ready to hand over the bodies of 6,000 deceased Ukrainian soldiers to Kyiv authorities "in the near future" and receive in exchange the same number of bodies of Russian servicepeople.
According to the Russian official, the priority cathegory for the exchange are "the wounded, the seriously ill, and prisoners of war under the age of 25."
Medinsky, who led the conversation with Ukrainians in Istanbul also stated that Russian President Putin is convinced that the meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky is also possible and not ruled out.
"But it needs to be substantively worked out with results, since heads of state should not work out the details of the agreement, but approve them, that is, make final decisions on previously prepared and agreed matters," Medinsky commented.
The Russian official also conveyed that the Ukrainian position is unwavering. The Kyiv authorities demand an unconditional ceasefire and immediate preparation for the leaders' summit.
Tass reminded that on May 25 the final stage of the prisoner exchange took place. The POW exchange was according to the 1,000-for-1,000 formula, based on the Russian-Ukrainian agreement reached on May 16.
Source: TASS, UNN
