COPENHAGEN, 25 May 2016 – Following the release of Ukrainian pilot and member of parliament Nadiya Savchenko after nearly two years in a Russian prison, reportedly in exchange for two alleged Russian servicemen Aleksandr Aleksandrov and Yevgeny Yerofeyev, Isabel Santos (MP, Portugal), Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, issued the following statement:

“It was with great relief that I heard of today’s Ukrainian-Russian prisoner exchange and particularly the news that Nadiya Savchenko is now free and back in Ukraine. With Savchenko’s health deteriorating, her imprisonment was not just a political or judicial matter, but had taken on a humanitarian urgency. It is with these concerns in mind that I had explored all possible avenues within my mandate to safeguard Savchenko’s health and wellbeing. I welcome her release, as called for repeatedly by the international community, including the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, and wish her a rapid recovery.”

Santos added that the move can also be seen as a constructive step towards long-overdue implementation of the Minsk Agreements, including the commitment to release all detained persons related to the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

“This positive development should be welcomed by anyone who wants to see peace and stability return to Ukraine. It is a rare sign of rapprochement between Moscow and Kyiv, and I urge all sides to capitalize on this moment of goodwill to bring a real and lasting resolution to the crisis in and around Ukraine,” Santos said.

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, in its Helsinki Declaration last year, “Call[ed] for the immediate release of Nadiya Savchenko, a Member of Parliament in Ukraine, from detention in the Russian Federation, on humanitarian grounds.” She had been imprisoned in Russia since June 2014.