Moscow voiced conditions of exchanging Ukrainian sailors
The Ukrainian foreign minister earlier warned Moscow would play the issue of sailors' release in the context of Ukraine's elections.
In 2019, Russia could go for an exchange of Ukrainian sailors detained in the act of Russian aggression in the Black Sea for Russians for Russian national imprisoned in Ukraine. Much depends on the Ukrainian side and to what extent Kyiv will be ready to reach concrete agreements, a Russian high-ranking diplomatic source told Izvestia.
“Now it’s impossible to swap Ukrainian sailors. We must wait for the court’s ruling, after which we can talk about the exchange,” the Izvestia's interlocutor said.
For Kyiv, the return of captured sailors is one of the main foreign policy priorities. Before the presidential election, such exchange is unlikely to take place, according to the publication. Also, the newspaper says its sources in Ukrainian government and parliament circles echoed the idea that the exchange is likely to take place after the presidential elections.
Recently Putin spoke out about swap of ukrainian sailors.
Source: UNIAN