Ukrainian and German Foreign Ministers to discuss freeing of Ukrainian prisoners held captive in Russia
The German Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sigmar Gabriel is set to visit Ukraine on January 3- 4 this year. During his visit, Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin plans to discuss with him the issue of the release of Ukrainian political prisoners detained in Russian prisons.
As the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reports, "the role of Germany, together with France, under the Normandy format in countering Russian aggression will be a key subject of the negotiations."
"In this regard, the Ministers will discuss further joint steps aimed at restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty," the statement says. Klimkin also plans to make a joint trip with Gabriel to the contact line in the Donbas.
Earlier, the Kremlin discarded the possibility of exchanging Ukrainians convicted in Russia under the Minsk Agreements, as these issues are discussed at the "highest level.”
On December 28, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko announced that he had entrusted the "immediate resumption of the negotiations with Russia" on the release of Ukrainian political prisoners.
After the annexation of Ukrainian Crimea, the Russian authorities of the peninsula detained and prosecuted several Ukrainian citizens, whom Ukrainian authorities and human rights activists refer to as political prisoners. In Russia, Ukrainians were also detained upon entry, mainly on charges of espionage.