AP, Kostyantynivka :
Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels swapped hundreds of prisoners on Friday as part of a new push for peace in one of Europe’s bloodiest conflicts in decades.
The exchange on a stretch of a dusty road north of the devastated eastern rebel stronghold of Donetsk came as negotiators from both sides held Skype video talks aimed at reviving stalled negotiations.
A round of talks mediated by European and Russian envoys in the Belarussian capital Minsk on Wednesday was due to have been followed by a final one on Friday at which a comprehensive peace accord was signed.
But Wednesday’s acrimonious session broke up after five hours with a deal reached on only the least contentious of the four agenda points: a prisoner swap involving 222 guerrillas and 145 Ukrainian troops.
The Skype consultations have so far failed to produce a new date for direct talks. Yet the prisoner handover went off without a hitch and now stands out as a rare example of cooperation between the two bitter rivals.
Some of the captives expressed surprise and joy at having the chance to go home in time for New Year’s Eve-the most cherished of all the holidays celebrated in once-communist eastern Europe.
“They only just told us that this would happen,” said a slightly older Ukrainian soldier named Artyom Syurik.
“I am looking forward to seeing my parents and wife. They do not know I am coming.” But a rebel named Denis Balbukov sounded defiant as he sat in a Kamaz truck waiting to go home to Donetsk.
“I want to eat fried potatoes and talk to my relatives,” said the 21 year old.
But “I will go back to fighting,” he added. “It was alright once we were moved to the detention centre, but to begin with, they really tormented and roughed us up.”
Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels swapped hundreds of prisoners on Friday as part of a new push for peace in one of Europe’s bloodiest conflicts in decades.
The exchange on a stretch of a dusty road north of the devastated eastern rebel stronghold of Donetsk came as negotiators from both sides held Skype video talks aimed at reviving stalled negotiations.
A round of talks mediated by European and Russian envoys in the Belarussian capital Minsk on Wednesday was due to have been followed by a final one on Friday at which a comprehensive peace accord was signed.
But Wednesday’s acrimonious session broke up after five hours with a deal reached on only the least contentious of the four agenda points: a prisoner swap involving 222 guerrillas and 145 Ukrainian troops.
The Skype consultations have so far failed to produce a new date for direct talks. Yet the prisoner handover went off without a hitch and now stands out as a rare example of cooperation between the two bitter rivals.
Some of the captives expressed surprise and joy at having the chance to go home in time for New Year’s Eve-the most cherished of all the holidays celebrated in once-communist eastern Europe.
“They only just told us that this would happen,” said a slightly older Ukrainian soldier named Artyom Syurik.
“I am looking forward to seeing my parents and wife. They do not know I am coming.” But a rebel named Denis Balbukov sounded defiant as he sat in a Kamaz truck waiting to go home to Donetsk.
“I want to eat fried potatoes and talk to my relatives,” said the 21 year old.
But “I will go back to fighting,” he added. “It was alright once we were moved to the detention centre, but to begin with, they really tormented and roughed us up.”
