United Nations, April 17 – RIA Novosti. UN Secretary-General antónio Guterres welcomed the exchange of prisoners in the East of Ukraine and expressed hope that this gesture will be a step towards a sustainable ceasefire and a further withdrawal of forces, reads the statement of the official representative of the Secretary-General Stefan Dujarric.
on Thursday held the first in this year’s exchange of prisoners between Kiev and self-proclaimed DND and LNR. Kiev gave Donetsk ten detained persons, Donetsk gave Kiev the side of nine people. The exchange of prisoners between Kiev and LC went by the formula “11 4”.
“the Secretary-General welcomes today’s mutual release and exchange of prisoners associated with the conflict in the East of Ukraine”, – said in a statement.
According to Dujarric, Guterres hopes that “this important humanitarian action in anticipation of the Orthodox Easter will serve as a positive step towards further progress, including a permanent ceasefire, in line with its global appeal, as well as to further the breeding of the forces and unhindered humanitarian access across the line of contact.”
As noted Dujarric, UN Secretary-General calls upon all parties concerned to take further action in this spirit in the ongoing peace efforts of the “channel four” (Germany, Russia, Ukraine and France), the contact group, OSCE and other parties to ensure progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements.
Previously, Guterres called for a cease-fire in all conflicts of the world on the background of the pandemic coronavirus.
