Talk of prisoner swap 'premature' - Russia
It would be "premature" to consider a prisoner swap with Kyiv before Ukrainian soldiers who have surrendered stand trial, Russia's deputy foreign minister says.
In comments reported by Russian news agency Interfax, Andrei Rudenko, said Moscow would consider a prisoner swap with Kyiv after the surrendered Ukrainian fighters were "appropriately convicted, sentenced".
"Before that, all talk of an exchange is premature," he said.
It comes after Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said late on Monday that Kyiv was ready for an exchange of prisoners and urged international allies to pressure Moscow.
The fate remains unclear of hundreds of Ukrainian fighters from the besieged steelworks in the southern city of Mariupol who were taken to Russian-controlled areas last week.
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