Russian-Ukrainian Leaders Discuss Prisoners
KABUL: (MEP) The Russian and Ukrainian leaders on Monday discussed the fate of a hunger-striking Ukrainian pilot jailed in Russia and two Russians captured and tried in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko discussed the issue during a phone conversation, the Kremlin said.
The call came after Ukraine jailed two alleged Russian special forces soldiers for several crimes including terrorism.
The issue of Nadezhda Savchenko as well as the fate of Russian nationals Aleksander Aleksandrov and Yevgeny Yerofeyev has been touched upon.
The Kremlin said the two leaders had agreed that Moscow would “soon” allow Ukraine’s consul general to visit Savchenko in prison.
Poroshenko’s office, in a separate statement, announced that the Ukrainian president urged his Russian counterpart to allow Savchenko’s “immediate” release.
The Ukrainian presidency confirmed that the fate of Yerofeyev and Aleksandrov had been discussed but no details were provided.
Relations between Russia and Ukraine badly deteriorated following Moscow’s annexation of the Crimea peninsula in 2014 and its alleged support for pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.
