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The exchange list has grown to more than 130 names but Kiev remains silent, Russian ombudswoman Tatyana Moskalkova has said
Ukraine appears to be attempting to derail a potential prisoner swap with Moscow, Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova claimed on Friday.
In a post on Telegram, Moskalkova said she was “extremely concerned that another prisoner exchange is being disrupted.”
The commissioner stated she had received assurances around three weeks ago that 70 Ukrainian service members that Kiev did not initially want to swap “would be included in the list and repatriated,” but that not much progress had been made since.
“Time goes on, the list has been extended: now it has 133 names on it, but the Ukrainian side remains silent,” Moskalkova said. In a follow-up post, she published the full names and dates of birth of the service members in question.
In early March, Moskalkova said Kiev had refused to exchange as many as 70 of its soldiers. However, she later signaled that Ukraine had changed its stance, claiming that confirmation had been provided by her counterpart in Kiev, Dmitry Lubinets.
Moscow and Kiev have conducted regular prisoner exchanges since the outbreak of hostilities more than one year ago, and they remain one of the few functioning diplomatic channels between the pair.
On March 7, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced it had secured the release of 90 servicemen who had been in “mortal danger” while in captivity. Meanwhile, officials in Kiev said a total of 130 people had been returned to Ukraine.
Last week, Ukraine stated it had transferred an unspecified number of heavily wounded prisoners back to Russia without any conditions, in line with international humanitarian law. The Russian Ministry of Defense did not comment on the move, although Moskalkova confirmed five injured Russian service members had been repatriated.
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March 31, 2023 at 12:10AM
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The former US president is expected to appear in court next week, according to his lawyer
A New York grand jury has voted to indict Donald Trump following a lengthy investigation into alleged hush-money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The decision marks the first time a former US president has ever faced criminal charges, sending the courts into uncharted legal territory.
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March 30, 2023 at 06:41PM
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The Ukrainian president has reportedly said he’s “ready to see” his Chinese counterpart in Kiev
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has reportedly lamented that he hasn’t had any direct talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping since Russia’s military offensive against Kiev began last year, and he wants to rectify the situation.
“We are ready to see him here,” Zelensky said in an interview with the Associated Press published on Wednesday. “I want to speak with him. I had contact with him before full-scale war, but during all this year, more than one year, I didn’t have.”
Beijing last month unveiled a 12-point roadmap for ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict, calling for a cease-fire and working toward a “sustainable European security architecture” rather than imposing sanctions and applying “maximum pressure” to force a solution. China has tried to play a “constructive role” in the crisis, resisting US pressure to condemn Russia and join in the West’s anti-Russia sanctions. US officials have dismissed the Chinese proposal as an offer that would help only Moscow.
Zelensky has hosted a parade of Western politicians in Kiev, including US President Joe Biden and three UK prime ministers. He said last month that he was open to China’s peace plan but would only accept a deal that led to Russia pulling all of its forces out of Ukrainian territory.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters on Wednesday that she had no information on whether Zelensky’s regime had actually invited Xi to Kiev. Nor was she able to say whether the Chinese president would accept such an offer.
Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted a milestone state visit by Xi earlier this month in Moscow, reaffirming partnership principles and multiple bilateral deals with Beijing. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin last week called the summit “very troubling.” Officials in Washington have suggested that China is considering sending arms to Russia, saying such a move would have “consequences.”
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The regional economic union reportedly wants to protect transactions from “possible geopolitical repercussions”
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is set to discuss dropping the US dollar, euro, yen and pound sterling from transactions and moving to settlements in local currencies, according to the news magazine Tempo.
An official meeting of ASEAN finance ministers and central bank governors kicked off on Tuesday in Indonesia. A regional grouping that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its members, ASEAN includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
“Efforts to reduce dependence on major currencies through the Local Currency Transaction (LCT) scheme will be discussed. This is an extension of the previous Local Currency Settlement (LCS) scheme that has already begun to be implemented between ASEAN members,” said the report.
Tempo specified that a digital cross-border payments system, allowing ASEAN member states to use local currencies in trade, would be expanded further. An agreement on such cooperation was reached between Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Thailand in November 2022.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has urged regional authorities to abandon Visa and Mastercard payment systems and start using credit cards issued by local banks. Moving away from Western payment systems is necessary to protect transactions from “possible geopolitical repercussions,” Widodo said.
Board member of the Indonesian Credit Cards Association (AKKI), Dodit Proboyakti, told RIA Novosti that Indonesia would apply the experience of Russia and its Mir payment system in promoting its own domestic financial network.
