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No progress on prisoners issue in Ukraine, says OSCE envoy

Xinhua, May 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said Wednesday the humanitarian subgroup of the Contact Group on Ukraine had held intense discussions of the prisoners issue in Minsk, but no progress had been achieved.

"It became clear that the parties hold different views on this issue. Unfortunately, in this matter there is no progress. People continue to suffer in the conflict," Martin Sajdik, special representative of the OSCE in the Contact Group on Ukraine, told reporters here.

Sajdik said that the political subgroup had continued detailed discussion on the modality of elections, and the talks on amnesty had been delayed until the next meeting that will be held on June 1.

The coordination of repair work and infrastructure restoration had also been discussed, the special envoy said. First and foremost, this concerned electric power lines, gas pipelines, and rail tracks, Sajdik said.

Ukraine and pro-independence fighters agreed a new truce deal earlier this year, declaring their intention to release a combined total of more than 50 prisoners of war as soon as all the technicalities had been resolved. Endit