Moscow calls for exchanging Russian, Ukrainian captives, disagrees with Kyiv on their status - Peskov
MOSCOW. Dec 21 (Interfax) - President Vladimir Putin did not give a concrete answer when asked about the exchange of Russian citizens incarcerated in Ukraine at his annual press conference due to the complexity of this question, but Moscow wants them to return home as soon as possible, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"Naturally, he said that we are interested in having them return home as soon as possible," Peskov told the press on Friday when asked why Putin gave an evasive answer to a question about the fate of Russian citizens incarcerated in Ukraine.
The question was asked with reference to the Ukrainian sailors "who are incarcerated in Russia as victims of Ukraine's provocation," Peskov said.
"The president said in that context that the issue was up to investigators and courts; he did not give a concrete answer because this is an extremely complicated question," he said.
"Russia has long been calling for an 'all for all' exchange, but Moscow and Kyiv disagree on who is being held by Moscow and who is being held on Kyiv, i.e. on the status of these people, which leads to discrepancies in the number of captives to be exchanged," Peskov said.
There was a follow-up question about the status given by Moscow to the Russian citizens incarcerated in Ukraine. Peskov said there is no general answer to this question.
"We can talk about each person individually. This is a long and complex conversation," he said.