Ukraine calls on Vatican to help with prisoner exchange with Russia before Easter
Andrii Yermak held talks with a representative of the Vatican (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
The Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andrii Yermak, held a phone conversation with the head of the Italian Episcopal Conference, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi. The sides discussed the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia and the acceleration of the process of exchanging prisoners of war, according to the Office of the President of Ukraine.
During the conversation, Yermak said that Ukrainian diplomacy, in dialogue with all countries of the world, pays special attention to the return of Ukrainian children illegally deported by Russia.
He thanked Zuppi for assistance in this matter.
"You also continue your work in this direction. Thank you. This is a slow process, but still we are moving forward," said the head of the Office of the President.
Yermak also called for assistance to Kyiv in the process of releasing prisoners of war, especially combat medics. During the conversation, the sides discussed options for speeding up this process and organizing exchanges ahead of Easter.
In addition, the head of the Office of the President informed the cardinal about the preparation for the Global Peace Summit, which will take place in June in Switzerland.
The parties also discussed the possibility of holding a bilateral meeting to unite efforts.
Prisoner exchange
The Ukrainian ombudsman proposed to Russia an exchange of prisoners of war, Muslims, and Catholics, for Easter and Eid al-Fitr, but the Kremlin ignored the proposal.
At the end of March, Pope Francis proposed exchanging Russian and Ukrainian prisoners of war according to the "all for all" formula.
The General Staff of the Ministry of Defense supported the pontiff's proposal.
