KYIV. Dec 18 (Interfax) - Ukraine has confirmed its readiness for release of captives in time for New Year and Christmas during a Skype conference held by the Trilateral Contact Group's humanitarian subgroup on Monday, Ukraine's representative and Verkhovna Rada first deputy speaker Iryna Herashchenko said.
However, representatives of Donetsk and Luhansk submitted new lists, effectively causing confusion about the date of exchange, Herashchenko said.
Kyiv is determined "to do everything as quickly as possible and even sooner," Herashchenko wrote on her Facebook page.
At the same time, "in recent days, December 14-15, the Minsk Group has received additional lists [from Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics representatives], demanding that these people be included in lists of those due for release, which in fact causes serious confusion about which date to set for the swap," Herashchenko said. "And effectively, leads to a derailing of the [timing] process," she said.
Despite having decided on the core agenda of today's Skype conference, the participants never heard an answer to the question of verification of the people who categorically refuse to be moved to the Donbas republics and travel to the contact line for verification, Herashchenko said.
Kyiv is expecting to hear clear and unequivocal replies and a position, primarily from the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe, with regard to removing people already freed from the lists, she said. All this will speed up the process of setting a definitive date for the release of prisoners, Herashchenko said.
"We are doing everything for good news. We are moving. Colossal work was carried out by Ukraine's prosecutor general's office, the Security Service, the Minsk Group, our diplomats, and all this should yield a result," Herashchenko said.
Ukraine proposed holding a Skype conference on December 20 "to finally agree on definitive details," she said.