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Russia ready to talk prisoner exchanges with Ukraine, has 630 POWs for trade — diplomat

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova

28 November 2024 02:34 (UTC +04:00)

Russia is ready to exchange 630 prisoners of war with Ukraine on a one-for-one basis and also to talk about exchanges beyond that, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during a briefing, APA reports citing TASS.

"We are committed to a constructive dialogue, we intend to bring back our POWs as soon as possible; we are ready to exchange 630 servicemen right now and to lay the ground for further exchanges," she noted.

According to Zakharova, these servicemen were included in the list of 935 POWs that the Russian Defense Ministry proposed for exchange earlier, but Kyiv refused to do any deals, giving no reason, because it was primarily concerned over foreign mercenaries and "Nazi cutthroats," while forcefully mobilized Ukrainians no longer interest Kyiv.

"Russia is giving Ukraine the option to decide which Russian servicemen to include in the exchange," the spokeswoman underscored. "Our position is based on the fact that every one of our soldiers is equally important, and must be returned. Unlike the Kyiv, we do not race, religion or according to their belonging to a certain military unit.".