 |
| Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov was the country's most prominent political prisoner (AFP Photo/Sergei SUPINSKY) |
Kiev (AFP) - Russia and Ukraine made a long-awaited swap of 70 prisoners on Saturday, a deal hailed as a first step towards ending five years of tensions and conflict.
Two planes
carrying 35 prisoners from each side landed simultaneously in Moscow and Kiev,
where the passengers emerged under sunny skies.
"We
have taken the first step," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on
the tarmac after greeting and hugging former detainees. "We have to take
all the steps to finish this horrible war."
In
emotional scenes at Kiev's Boryspil airport, family members embraced and handed
flowers to the former prisoners, many weeping with joy.
Among those
swapped were 24 Ukrainian sailors, Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov and
Russian-Ukrainian journalist Kyrylo Vyshynsky.
"I am
overflowing with happiness," Natalya Mokryak, the mother of one of the
sailors, told AFP at the airport. "I have finally seen this come
true."
Russian state television showed the Russian prisoners emerging from the plane at Moscow's Vnukovo-2 airport used for government flights.
 |
Two groups
of 35 prisoners from each side were released simultaneously
(AFP Photo/Vasily
MAXIMOV)
|
Russian state television showed the Russian prisoners emerging from the plane at Moscow's Vnukovo-2 airport used for government flights.
Among those
handed over to Moscow was Vladimir Tsemakh -- a fighter with Moscow-backed
separatists considered a key witness in the downing of flight MH17 -- who was
returned home despite pleas from the Netherlands.
Western
leaders welcomed the exchange, with US President Donald Trump saying it could
be "a first giant step to peace" and German Chancellor Angela Merkel
calling it a "sign of hope".
French
President Emmanuel Macron hailed the release of Sentsov in particular, saying
in a tweet that "we have always been by his side".
Anticipation
had been building for the swap, which involved weeks of behind-the-scenes
negotiations.
 |
Anticipation
had been building for days for the exchange (AFP Photo/
Sergei SUPINSKY)
|
Relations
between Kiev and Moscow nose-dived in 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea and
Moscow backed separatists in the eastern industrial regions of Donetsk and
Lugansk. Fighting there has claimed more than 13,000 lives over the past five
years.
Smiles and
tears
Zelensky's
election in April has raised hopes that a stalled peace process could be
revived.
The
comedian-turned-politician vowed to have Ukrainian prisoners in Russia returned
and has said that ending the conflict with Russia is his top priority.
Russian
President Vladimir Putin said this week that the exchange would be "a huge
step towards normalising relations" with Kiev.
Saturday's
swap was "very important", Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria
Zakharova said.
 |
German
Chancellor Angela Merkel said the swap was a 'sign of hope' (AFP Photo/
Sergei
SUPINSKY)
|
"It's
necessary to maintain this drive to solve problems as much as possible,"
she said.
The release
of filmmaker Sentsov will be seen as a major victory for Kiev. The 43-year-old
was Ukraine's most famous political prisoner and the subject of a star-studded
international campaign calling for his release.
He was
arrested in 2014 and had been serving a 20-year sentence in an Arctic penal
colony for planning "terrorist attacks" in Crimea.
"I
thank all the people who have fought for us," Sentsov said at the airport
in Kiev, where he was greeted by his teenage daughter who wept and smiled.
"I am
hoping that the rest of the prisoners will be released soon," he added.
The
sailors, including two members of Ukraine's SBU security services, were
detained last year when Russia seized three Ukrainian vessels off Crimea.
Moscow had
wanted to put them on trial for violating Russia's maritime borders.
The
commander of the Ukrainian Navy, Admiral Igor Voronchenko, broke into tears as
he embraced one of the freed sailors.
MH17 witness handed over
 |
Vladimir Tsemakh -- a fighter with Moscow-backed separatists considered a key
witness in the downing of flight MH17 -- was handed over to Russia (AFP Photo/
Sergei SUPINSKY)
|
MH17 witness handed over
Among those
who flew to Russia was Vyshynsky, a 52-year-old journalist at Russia's RIA
Novosti state news agency.
The
Russian-Ukrainian dual national was facing charges of "high treason"
but was released on bail ahead of the swap.
The release
of Tsemakh -- who was reportedly in charge of air defence in the area where the
MH17 came down -- was a demand by Russia for the swap to go ahead, said Ivan
Bakanov, the head of Ukraine's SBU.
The Dutch
government contacted Ukraine "several times and at the very highest
level" to try to prevent Tsemakh's handover, Foreign Minister Stef Blok
said.
Blok said
the authorities had the opportunity to question Tsemakh before he left for
Russia but the Netherlands still profoundly regretted the outcome.
Flight MH17
from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down by a Russian-made missile in July
2014 over eastern Ukraine, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew on board,
two-thirds of them Dutch.
Efforts
have intensified to ease tensions between Moscow and Kiev since Zelensky's
election, with Macron calling for a summit of the leaders of Ukraine, Russia,
France and Germany this month.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.