EU welcomes the release of some prisoners by Moscow
The European Union welcomed Moscow's release of "unjustly persecuted" prisoners, which came amid a wide-ranging exchange between Russia and the West, demanding the release of all political prisoners, reports AFP.
"The European Union welcomes the release and transfer to freedom outside Russia and Belarus of a number of political prisoners, including European citizens, with the help of Turkey," said the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell.
For his part, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz appreciated on Thursday that the "difficult" decision to release an alleged FSB agent convicted of murder, as part of the prisoner exchange between Russia and the West, "saved lives".
"No one took lightly the decision to transfer a criminal sentenced to life in prison after only a few years," Scholz said at the airport in Cologne (west), where ex-convicts were expected.
We remind that on August 1, a major exchange of prisoners from several countries took place in Ankara - Russia, Belarus, the USA, Germany, Poland, Slovenia and Norway. Several people convicted in Russia have been freed in a prisoner exchange considered the biggest since the end of the Cold War. Among them are American journalists Evan Gershkovich and Also Kurmasheva, along with former Marine Paul Whelan. The US and its allies handed over to Russia eight people who were detained in several NATO countries, as well as two minor children, information confirmed by the FSB.
