Turkish Ombudsman may visit Russia to monitor observance of rights of Ukrainian POWs - Lubinets

During an online meeting, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets discussed with his Turkish counterpart Şeref Malkoç his possible visit to Russia to monitor the observance of the rights of Ukrainian prisoners of war.

Lubinets said this in a post on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

"I held an online meeting with my Turkish colleague, Chief Ombudsman Şeref Malkoç. I expressed my gratitude to Mr. Malkoç for our productive cooperation. In particular, for keeping under control the protection of the rights of Ukrainian children in Turkey who suffered from Russian aggression. We discussed strengthening joint work with UNICEF. In addition, we discussed a possible visit of Mr. Malkoc to the territory of Russia to monitor the observance of the rights of Ukrainian prisoners of war," he wrote.

Lubinets also noted that the parties discussed the issue of mechanisms for the return of Ukrainian civilian hostages. According to him, the meeting was also attended by Nariman Dzhelial, the Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, who had been held captive by the Russians since 2021. He shared his thoughts with the Turkish Ombudsman "as a person who knows firsthand about Russian captivity."

As reported by Ukrinform, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights said that he does not believe in a large exchange of "all for all" in the near future, as he does not see Russia’s readiness for this.