Cairo, Jan 4: The UAE Foreign Ministry said it thanked the Russian and Ukrainian Governments for cooperation in prisoner exchanges.
Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that 248 Russian servicemen had been returned from Ukrainian captivity with UAE mediation; they will be brought for treatment and rehabilitation to the ministry’s medical institutions.
Russian human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova said 75 of the 248 Russian servicemen who returned on Wednesday were returned from Ukrainian captivity without exchange.
As a source familiar with the situation explained to Sputnik, the release of these 75 Russians became possible thanks to persistent work of Russian competent bodies “after, in violation of all agreements, five previously exchanged militants of the Azov nationalist unit [banned in Russia as a terrorist organization] were taken from Turkey to Ukraine.”
“The Ministry expressed its appreciation to the governments of Russia and Ukraine for their cooperation and response to the UAE’s mediation efforts to make the exchange process a success, despite the challenges posed by the ongoing war,” the UAE Foreign Ministry said.
It said the successful prisoner exchange reflected strong friendly relations of the United Arab Emirates with both Russia and Ukraine.
“The success of the mediation efforts was a reflection of the strong friendly relations between the UAE and both the Russian Federation and the Republic of Ukraine, which were supported by sustained calls at the highest levels, and which resulted in one of the largest exchanges of captives between the two sides since the beginning of the war,” the Ministry said.
(UNI)
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