Russia will examine the question of an exchange of prisoners with Ukraine once the Ukrainian detainees have been tried, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Roudenko said on Wednesday May 25, quoted by Russian agencies.
Read alsoIn Ukraine, the fight against the invader has become a war of independence: the analysis of the special envoy of
Figaro
"
We will look into all of this after those who surrendered have been tried, after a verdict has been delivered
," he said.
“
Prior to that, talks about a swap are premature
,” he added.
Last week, the last Ukrainian defenders of the strategic city of Mariupol, entrenched for weeks in the huge Azovstal steelworks, surrendered.
4,000 Ukrainian soldiers captured
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, nearly 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers were captured there.
The Ukrainian authorities want to organize an exchange of prisoners of war, but the Russian authorities have repeatedly indicated that they consider at least some of them, belonging to the Azov regiment, not as soldiers but as guilty neo-Nazi fighters of war crimes.
On Saturday, Russian deputy and negotiator Leonid Slutsky said that Moscow would "
study
" the possibility of exchanging fighters from this regiment for Viktor Medvedchuk, a well-known Ukrainian politician and businessman close to Vladimir Putin, who was arrested mid-April in Ukraine.
Pro-Russian separatist leader Denis Pushilin said on Tuesday that the prosecutor's office of the self-proclaimed Donetsk Republic was working with Moscow on the composition of the court to try Ukrainian prisoners.
Read alsoThe war in Ukraine pushes Europe to beef up its cyber strategy
"
A maximum of representatives of different countries must participate
", he said, affirming that "
a series of countries
" had given their "
prior agreement to participate in this international tribunal
", without giving more details.
On Wednesday, Russian Deputy Minister Andrei Roudenko said he had no information on this subject.
SEE ALSO
- War in Ukraine: 265 Ukrainian fighters from Azovstal have taken themselves prisoner, according to Moscow