Kremlin Refuses to Comment on Savchenko Exchange

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday refused to comment on the possible exchange of Ukrainian national Nadezhda Savchenko, who has been sentenced to a long prison term in Russia for Russian nationals Yevgeny Yerofeev and Alexander Aleksandrov detained in Ukraine.

Earlier this week, Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko had a phone conversation, in which they discussed the fate of Savchenko, Yerofeev and Aleksandrov.

"I have nothing to add on the issue of Savchenko, apart from the words, I have already said," Peskov told reporters, answering the question about the possibility of Savchenko's exchange for detained Russian nationals.

Savchenko, 34, was sentenced in late March to a 22-year jail term in Russia for her part in killing Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine, and refused to appeal the ruling, but Ukrainian authorities have been trying to find ways for her possible return to Ukraine, for example through her possible exchange for Russian nationals.

On Monday, a Kiev court sentenced Yerofeev and Aleksandrov, who were detained in May 2015 in eastern Ukraine, each to 14 years in prison after finding them guilty of terrorist activities, "conducting an aggressive war," and other activities leading to the death of humans. The sentence is expected to take into effect, 30 days after its announcement.