Secretary-General Welcomes Eastern Ukraine Prisoner Exchange Ahead of Orthodox Easter

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The Secretary-General welcomes today’s mutual release and exchange of prisoners related to the conflict in eastern Ukraine.  He hopes that this important humanitarian action in advance of Orthodox Easter will serve as a positive step towards more progress, including a permanent ceasefire, in line with his global appeal, as well as further disengagement of forces and unimpeded humanitarian access across the contact line.

The Secretary-General urges all relevant parties to take further measures in this spirit, as part of the ongoing peace efforts by the Normandy Four, the Trilateral Contact Group, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and other actors, in order to enable progress in the implementation of the Minsk Agreements.