MOSCOW - The defense team of Ukrainian aviator Nadia Savchenko, who has been charged in a criminal case related to the killing of Russian journalists in the Luhansk region of Ukraine in 2014, believes that she could theoretically be swapped for Russian citizens Yevgeny Yerofeyev and Alexander Alexandrov detained in Ukraine only after courts hand down their sentences.
“I believe courts will pass their judgments in relation to Savchenko and those two Russians. After that, some dialogue is possible,” lawyer Nikolai Polozov told Interfax on Friday.
For example, Russia and Ukraine could reach an agreement that Savchenko, Alexandrov, and Yerofeyev would serve their sentences in their own countries.
“Surely, it was not necessary to wait until the sentences are passed, but I think some political negotiations should be held to this end,” Polozov said.
Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) chief Vasyl Hrytsak had said earlier he did not rule out that Yerofeyev and Alexandrov could be swapped for Ukrainian citizens detained in Russia.
