The release of hostages will be discussed by the foreign ministers of the Normandy Four countries (Ukraine, Germany, France, and Russia) on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, First Deputy Chairwoman of the Verkhovna Rada Iryna Gerashchenko, who represents Ukraine in the humanitarian subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group, has said.
“The issue of hostages will be a priority and key issue during a meeting of foreign ministers in the Normandy format, which will take place this week on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference,” Gerashchenko said at a briefing in Kyiv on February 15.
According to her, the work on the release of Ukrainian detainees, who stay in the occupied territory, as well as in Russia, is being constantly conducted, and different channels are used for this purpose.
“Believe me, we are working through different channels… I hope that in the near future we will have some good news about the liberation of Ukrainians,” Gerashchenko said.
She said that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was also working on this issue.
At the same, Gerashchenko noted that the release of the hostages depended on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The issue of the release of the hostages depends on one person. His name is Putin, and therefore it is obvious that it is very important to talk about it with him,” she said.
Gerashchenko stressed that the main task for 2018 was the release of hostages not only from the occupied territory but also “unblocking the process on the release of the political prisoners of the Kremlin.”
A meeting of foreign ministers of the Normandy Four countries is to be held in Munich on February 16 this year.
