French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a joint statement that the prisoner swap was “a long-awaited humanitarian measure” that had been agreed in Paris on 9 December.
The exchange saw Ukraine and Russia-backed separatists swapping detained fighters for civilians and members of armed forces, some of whom had been imprisoned for years as part of the conflict in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region since 2014.
The move was “in line with the engagement taken on 9 December, during the ‘Normandy’ format summit in Paris, to facilitate the release and exchange of prisoners of the conflict by the end of the year”, according to the statement.
In the presence of Macron and Merkel, the Paris summit saw Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky holding their first face-to-face talks since Zelensky became president earlier this year.
“It’s wonderful, I’m so happy,” Zelensky said after greeting former prisoners arriving at an airport near Kiev.
Normandy format
The Paris summit resurrected the so-called Normandy format talks between France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine, so named for the first such meeting on the side lines of D-Day ceremonies in Normandy, France, on 6 June 2014.
The four countries secured a ceasefire deal in Minsk in 2015, though it has rarely held in a conflict that has killed more than 13,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands to date.
The format was resurrected after a three-year lull as part of foreign policy efforts on the part of Macron to push for dialogue between European powers and Russia.
Ties between Ukraine and Russia fell apart after a pro-Western uprising that ousted a Moscow-backed regime in early 2014. Russia proceeded to annex the peninsula of Crimea before the outbreak of the conflict in the Donbass.
The swap, overseen by monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, came after each side in the conflict released 35 detainees in September. The previous exchange happened in 2017.
Controversial release of riot officers
Some Ukrainians were angered by aspects of the exchange, which included the release of five riot police officers suspected of killing protesters during the 2014 uprising.
“What Ukrainians have been fighting for is going down the drain,” said filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, who was released in the September exchange.
Zelensky, whose peace efforts have faced criticism among nationalists and war veterans, said the release of the officers “was a difficult decision” that meant “we were able to return those who are alive.”
The European Union said in a statement that it would “take note” of the officers’ release.
Long peace process
At the December summit in Paris, leaders also sought to revive aspects of the Minsk deal including the withdrawal of heavy weapons, the restoration of Kiev’s control over its borders with Russia and preparation for local elections in the eastern region.
“New work is still needed to allow the exchange of all prisoners linked to the conflict,” read the statement from Macron’s office, which also called for “total and unconditional access of international organisations, notably the International Committee of the Red Cross, to all detained persons”.
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