MONTREAL (AP) — More than 45 countries signed a pledge Thursday in Montreal to repatriate the citizens, prisoners of war and children Russia has taken to Ukraine since it invaded the country.
Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said the countries agreed to coordinate efforts to gather information on Ukrainians held in Russia and create safe routes for their return.
“Human lives must be protected. Children, civilians and prisoners of war must be able to return home,” she said at a press conference at the end of a two-day summit on the human dimension of the war.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said nearly 42,000 Ukrainians are missing and nearly 20,000 children have been deported to Russia. He said that 860 Ukrainian children have been returned home so far.
Joly said Thursday’s joint statement will help coordinate existing efforts to locate missing Ukrainians. She said Qatar, South Africa and the Holy See have agreed to act as intermediaries in negotiations on the return of prisoners of war, civilians and children. Lithuania and Qatar will act as transit countries for Ukrainians being released.
Officials did not release a list of the more than 70 countries that sent delegations to Montreal this week, and it was unclear Thursday evening which countries had signed the pledge. But a number of major players were not present, including China, India and Brazil. Mexico and South Africa attended the conference.
Joly said many countries felt “direct pressure from Russia” not to attend the summit. “Russia has had a lot of protests in many capitals of the world, telling them not to come to Montreal,” she said. “It shows that what we are doing sheds light on an issue that is embarrassing to Russia.”
The ICC previously issued arrest warrants for both Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, accusing them of war crimes including the unlawful deportation of children and the unlawful transfer of children from occupied territories of Ukraine to Russia. Moscow has rejected the accusations.
