Kuleba: Russia has rejected the possibility of making an exchange for Savchenko and other political prisoners
Dmytro Kuleba, Special Envoy of Ukraine's Foreign Ministry, spoke recently about the liberation of Nadiya Savchenko. Russia rejected making any agreement with Ukraine about the release of Savchenko, a Ukrainian pilot, as well as other political prisoners being held in Russia. Kuleba says that is the reason their liberation can only be achieved with the help of international pressure.
"Although we started with the understanding that Russia can be negotiated with to find compromises and opportunities, now we think that only a comprehensive, systematic and continuous pressure and putting the issue of Savchenko and other political prisoners on the agenda of all the negotiating processes all the time—that's a road to victory. Russia decided to take a stand on this issue: no means no. This means we have to create such a combination of diplomatic and international circumstances which will make the release of Savchenko and other political prisoners beneficial to Russia itself," Kuleba said at a round table organized by the Gorshenin Institute in Kiev on Friday.
The diplomat assured the President of Ukraine and the ambassadors of other states that "the release of political prisoners is not only professional, but also a moral obligation."
He said that work on their release is being conducted on three levels. "The first is political: we keep this issue on the agenda of all the talks. Second is legal: we collaborate with the attorneys. Third is public: their names should be constantly heard," Kuleba said.
The political prisoners’ relatives met with foreign ambassadors in Ukraine. "We are working not only on the diplomatic, but on an emotional level. When Gennady Afanasiev’s mother was making a speech without holding back her tears, the foreign diplomats themselves were touched," Kuleba said.