Turkish ombudsman Malkoc stated the preparation of the largest exchange between Russia and Ukraine
A trilateral plan has been agreed during talks, with Ukraine presenting a list of 800 people and Russia a list of 200, the Turkish ombudsman said
Russia and Ukraine, mediated by Turkish ombudsman Sheref Malkoç, are preparing an exchange that could affect a total of 1,000 people, reports CNN Turk. According to Malkoç, a trilateral plan was agreed upon during the meetings, during which Kiev presented a list of 800 people and Moscow presented a list of 200.
“It’s not enough to just talk, you have to take steps. Talk to your leaders to create a mechanism,” the channel quoted the Turkish ombudsman as saying.
He reiterated his proposal for a humanitarian corridor, which he said could be organized in Istanbul. On January 11, Malkoc stated that Turkey would like to achieve the opening of such a corridor between the countries to help the children, women and wounded victims of military actions in Ukraine. Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets pointed out that Ankara’s idea concerns both civilians and military.
In mid-January, several rounds of talks were held in Turkey between Commissioner for Human Rights Tatyana Moskalkova and Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets. They were organized by the Turkish ombudsman Sheref Malkoc. Moskalkova said that the sides discussed the provision of humanitarian assistance to the citizens of the two countries. At the same time, she said that she had not discussed with her Ukrainian colleague Ankara’s proposal on the humanitarian corridor.
At the same time, Malkoc pointed out that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan planned to discuss the issue of a humanitarian corridor with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky. The topic of prisoner exchange was touched upon in a conversation between Putin and Erdogan on January 16, the Kremlin reported.