Donbass Prisoner Exchange to Be Discussed at Video Conference on July 31

The humanitarian subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group on Donbass settlement plans to discuss the issue of prisoner exchange at a video conference on July 31, Olga Kobtseva, the representative of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) in the subgroup, told Sputnik Wednesday.

LUGANSK (Sputnik) — A violent military conflict in Ukraine started in 2014 after the residents of Donbass refused to recognize the new Ukrainian government that came to power in what they perceived to be a coup. In February 2015, the parties to the Ukrainian conflict signed the Minsk peace accords in order to end the fighting in the crisis-torn region. The ceasefire deal stipulated an all-for-all prisoner exchange among other issues.

"The humanitarian subgroup has agreed to hold a video conference on July 31 and discuss the issue of prisoner exchange," Kobtseva said.

In late June, the parties to the Ukrainian conflict agreed to finalize their lists of captured individuals and launch the prisoner exchange process by the next meeting of the Contact Group on Ukrainian reconciliation, which was scheduled to take place in Minsk on July 5. However, the delegations of LPR and Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), as well as a representative of Russia left the talks of the humanitarian subgroup due to Kiev's position on the exchange of prisoners.

The Trilateral Contact Group on the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, with representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE, was set up in 2014 to promote direct dialogue between Ukraine’s conflicting parties. The Contact Group has a number of subgroups, including the humanitarian one.