Lavrentyev: Prisoner swap in Syria difficult issue, one needs to be patient and wait
NUR-SULTAN. Dec 12 (Interfax) - Russian Special Presidential Representative for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev has said he hopes to see the results of efforts toward a prisoner exchange in the near future.
"A prisoner swap is being prepared; it was planned ahead of the meeting in Astana. But it wasn't possible for objective reasons. But there are developments, this group is working and it did a really good job in the Astana format here, in Nur-Sultan. I believe we will see some results regarding the prisoner exchange in the near future," Lavrentyev told journalists following a plenary session of the 14th round of talks on Syria in Nur-Sultan.
"I should say that the exchange of prisoners, detainees is very complicated. There are many nuances related to determining their location and specific persons, among others. Sometimes, the parties insist on [swapping] certain individuals who might no longer be alive. This is why we need to be patient and wait," he said.