During consultations on the possibility of exchanging convicted Nadezhda Savchenko, Moscow proposed a list of candidates, which included Viktor But and Konstantin Yaroshenko, who are serving sentences in the United States, an Interfax source said.

Ukrainian citizen Nadezhda Savchenko, convicted in Russia, March 2016 (Photo: AP)

Moscow is holding consultations on the exchange of Ukrainian citizen Nadezhda Savchenko, convicted in Russia, for a group of Russians, including Viktor Bout and Konstantin Yaroshenko, who are serving sentences in the United States, Interfax reports , citing informed sources. The agency does not specify who exactly are the parties to the negotiations.

“Consultations are currently underway, including through confidential channels, on the possibility of Savchenko’s release through an exchange. The Russian side has offered a list of its fellow citizens, in exchange for whose extradition it is ready to release the former Ukrainian soldier,” the agency’s interlocutor said.

He clarified that this list includes businessman Viktor But and pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, sentenced to long terms in the United States. “There are also Russians among them, whose activities are usually not advertised,” the agency’s interlocutor added.

Savchenko's lawyer Mark Feigin told the agency that he had no information about such negotiations, but would be happy with such an outcome. “For me personally, as a lawyer, it makes absolutely no difference who they exchange for: Bout, Yaroshenko - it doesn’t matter to me. It is absolutely and completely impossible to release Savchenko through legal means,” he said.

“I don’t know whether the United States will agree to this, since Savchenko is not their citizen, but if for humanitarian reasons they agree to this, that would also be a way out. If this happens, then so be it,” Feigin added.

Rumors about a possible exchange of Savchenko after the court verdict have been circulating for a long time, with various candidates being named, including “GRU fighters” Alexander Alexandrov and Yevgeny Erofeev, who are now on trial in Kiev for illegally crossing the border, possessing weapons and committing a terrorist attack. However, Moscow has never officially announced negotiations on this topic.

The theoretical possibility of an exchange was admitted on March 25 by the head of the Kremlin administration, Sergei Ivanov. However, he, like the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov, clarified that a decision on this can only be made personally by Vladimir Putin.

On March 22, the Donetsk court of the Rostov region sentenced Savchenko to 22 years in prison. She was found guilty of the death of VGTRK employees in eastern Ukraine and illegal border crossing. Immediately after the verdict, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko suggested that Moscow exchange Savchenko for “two Russian servicemen.” At the same time, he stated that Putin, during the meetings of the Normandy Four, allegedly promised to “return Nadezhda Savchenko to Ukraine” after the end of the trial.

Commenting on Poroshenko’s appeal, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow “will act in accordance with the law.” Like the head of the Kremlin administration, Peskov emphasized that “the rest of the decision can only be made by the president.” “I can’t say which one yet,” he said. At the same time, Peskov emphasized that he is not aware of any agreements between Putin and Poroshenko on the fate of Savchenko.

US State Department head John Kerry discussed the issue of Savchenko during his visit to Moscow and negotiations with Vladimir Putin on March 25. Kerry called the talks , which lasted about four hours, "constructive."

Russian Viktor Bout is serving a sentence in the United States, he was convicted on charges of intending to sell weapons to Colombian rebels. Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko was sentenced in the United States to 20 years in prison for transporting large quantities of cocaine.

The media learned about consultations on the exchange of Savchenko for Bout and Yaroshenko