18 Jun 2018 14:30

Denial to Ukrainian ombudsman to visit 2 Ukrainian convicts in Russia doesn't mean disruption of Putin-Poroshenko agreements - Kremlin

MOSCOW. June 18 (Interfax) - The Kremlin does not view the denial to Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Liudmyla Denysova to visit Oleh Sentsov and Mykola Karpiuk jailed in Russia as the attempt to derail the relevant agreements between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

"No, I would not put it that way," Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday, when asked about whether the current situation means that the agreement between the two countries' presidents is actually thwarted through Russia's fault.

At this point, Peskov could not identify the reasons why Denisova could not meet with Sentsov and Karpiuk, noting that this issue is not within Kremlin's competence.

"It is still premature to say [anything in concrete], the work is on to implement the agreements and the understanding reached in the recent phone call between Putin and Poroshenko and one will be able to talk about something only on the basis of outcomes of this work," Peskov said, when asked about whether the Kremlin believes that certain progress is seen in the process of swapping prisoners between Russia and Ukraine.