Russia has not agreed to a new prisoner exchange agreement with Ukraine during talks in Türkiye, according to the Kremlin’s Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova.
“My earlier remarks about a swap were misinterpreted,” Moskalkova told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Thursday, two days after she held a rare meeting in Ankara with her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Lubinets.
Turkish state media quoted her as telling reporters that they had agreed to exchange "more than 40 prisoners" from each side but Moskalkova said that those comments referred to the number of people the sides had already exchanged in the past.
"Someone misunderstood something," Moskalkova said on the sidelines of an international conference in the Turkish capital.
"We were talking about the results of our past work. These exchanges already happened."
Moskalkova added that she and Lubinets had exchanged lists of wounded soldiers in preparation for a possible future swap.
"Such exchanges happen all the time. These agreements are reached by the military, and we work jointly with them."
Türkiye’s Chief Ombudsman Şeref Malkoç brought together the warring sides at a key meeting this week for discussions on providing humanitarian assistance to citizens of both nations during the ongoing conflict.
Before the meeting, Lubinets had noted that the agenda was to "return of our heroes and heroines," a reference to prisoner exchanges. Later, Moskalkova too revealed via Telegram she asked Lubinets’ help to bring some Ukrainian citizens to their families living in Russia. “Some people with severe illnesses need ombudsmen’s help because the humanitarian corridor struggles to function sometimes.”
She had further noted that Türkiye was currently “the best place” for hosting the wounded and prisoners.
Ankara, internationally praised for its mediation efforts, previously facilitated the landmark swap of some 200 prisoners in September 2022.
