MOSCOW. Aug 23 (Interfax) - Andrei Domansky, a lawyer for RIA Novosti Ukraine Editor-in-Chief Kirill Vyshinsky arrested in Ukraine, has said that no negotiations are being held with him on his client's possible exchange for Ukrainian citizens detained in Russia, the newspaper Izvestia said on Friday.
"We aren't participating in any exchange talks. No such talks have been held with me as Kirill's lawyer. Consequently, I am not taking part in them. Kirill is going to defend his innocence in court. He is going to have his name cleared of these groundless accusations. Therefore, we continue seeking a just and lawful ruling. And we have seen plenty of statements made by different politicians and behind-the-scenes games over the year he has spent by custody," the newspaper quoted Domansky as saying.
In turn, Dmitry Diyamentovich, another lawyer representing Vyshinsky, confirmed that "Kirill's position remains unchanged, and he doesn't want to be a bargaining chip."
The journalist's lawyers added that a court hearing into an appeal contesting a ruling to extend Vyshinsky's pretrial custody, initially set for August 20, was moved to a later date due to a judge's illness, but no new date was set, according to Izvestia.
At the same time, the future of 24 Ukrainian sailors detained by Russia after the incident in the Kerch Strait in November 2018, remains unclear at this point, the newspaper said. The sailors are now at Moscow's Lefortovo remand center, although all of them have not been gathered at the same facility on purpose, the newspaper said.
The situation surrounding them is "even more delicate, and relevant statements will be made as soon as there is more clarity," it said.
Meanwhile, the newspaper's source did not rule out that the Ukrainian sailors could be exchanged soon, even though it was said earlier that they were not on any swap lists and would be handled separately.
However, should they return to Ukraine soon, such an exchange between Russia and Ukraine would take on a "massive scale, sending a significant signal," the newspaper quoted its source as saying.
In turn, the Ukrainian sailors' lawyer, Nikolai Polozov, has declined to comment, Izvestia said.